You may recall the post a couple weeks ago, one titled She's not crying any more." Baby is a woman a few years younger than me back home near Minerva, OH. She's the sister of my best friend back there, a guy from my high school class, whose parents are my landlords.
Anyway... Baby had been living the life of a spousal abuse victim in this, her second marriage, a brief one of about three years with two teenage sons from her first marriage, where she was also beaten. None back home knew about this one's problems because it was mostly outside the house.
No one knew except for me and Barb Breckenridge. Barb got shoved by the guy a few times visiting. I caught Baby in short sleeves and she was vague about how it happened, saying at work. I started shooting pics to document what I suspected was a problem. I had her moving lie a runway model for the shoot!
And then my friend called one day and said into the voicemail, "She's in trouble and says you took pictures that might help her."
Since I saw her, her husband had retired from the job and really started working her over when she came home after her shift Then he locked her out of the house. So I produced them and email them to a mutual friend, Alan, who has a computer. He burned a disc of the pix.
She went to a lawyer who took them to the sheriff.
So, her old man was picked up on spousal abuse charges, served a restraining order, and she got her things out of the house. He also paid her back her tax refund and other money or hers he had taken. They went to court of the spousal abuse charge the lawyers produced my pics and email and Barb testified. They then verbally agreed to seek dissolusionment. She just wants what she took into the marriage.
She spent last night at Barb's with the boys, had a few glasses of wine over dinner and is getting ready ready for spring. She's got a new apartment to fix up and her life will soon be free and clear. She's over 30 years with a defense contractor, so she will be fine without a man.
My friend's got my Ohio handicapped card and sending it via a mule. All is well in my little world!
Today I clean and exercise in the pool and go downtown to meet friends. First, I have put a pot of vegetable soup on - fresh spinach from the garden, chopped yam, cabbage, tomato, etc. In a few minutes Carmen is due for the never ending work around here.
Tomorrow, I'll go see Fran and Shirley with Lora and greet new arrivals in the evening. Life is good!
March 7, 2009
March 6, 2009
Women on a mission
We could have been in a pick up truck for all the class we had. We had a mission, to get our teeth updated! Neither Fran nor I had had a cleaning and check up in the last year. Shirley lost a crown while packing in Chicago to meet up with Fran at Mar y Sol, where Lora has some friends among the regulars. They arrived at my house with their noisy golf cart, running rough, about 50 minutes before we were due at the dentist's office. Francisco J. Canales Dominguez is an oral surgeon with the Navy who has opened a private practice with a newly outfitted office. Very nice.
So I told him we'd be there at 5 pm. The girls come in as I'm wrapping things up and wait until I tell Lora to get in her carrier...zoom, she does. I picked up the wrong ATM card, and Fran went back inside to get it. Then we were off!
Their golf cart is a whole lot faster than mine because they got big tires put on it with a jacked up chassis. It also presents a problem for Shirley and me to get in and out of. The back is higher, so Shrley takes it, and as we are going against the wind, Shirley is saying she's gonna drive home because Fran is stalling out when she slows and then jackrabbiting! Hold on girls, Fran shouts, and Shirley holds on to her girls. Wink wink.
Along they way, against the wind, we shout to each other about how petrified we are. We all hate going to the dentist.
We arrive 5 minutes early, enough time to see the beautiful hotel lobby with a coffee shop that sells the kinds of things that dentists hate and the new setting for Cazuela M & J at the building's entrance. We sit down and the dentista opens his door. Shirley makes the sign of the cross and enters. Fran goes to the coffee shop, checks it out and brings me a bottled Starbucks cappucino.
I am called by Canales Dominguez to tell Shirley that he is going to clean the root canal, repost and build up and seat the crown. It will cost $90.
I return to the lobby and Fran and I yell to Shirley a few times over the space at the top of the wall. We could hear everything that was going on. Sheiza, she said. That's shit in German. Shirley is not German.
I am called back in to translate. It's going to take 45 minutes. Oi vey, she says as I leave. This is a woman who made the sign of the cross. I sit back down. 45 minutes later to the minute, exactly, Shirley walks out smiling. He's so gentle, she says, smiling. Fran goes in with me.
He says it will cost $40. We taunt Fran, too, a payback from Shirley! Mmyaumya, she responds with the dentist's hands in her mouth. Then it's my turn.
I only have pesos, I say. He quotes me 650 pesos. Ok, but I'm a resident. He smiles and tells me to sit down. The first time he told me to rinse, I just swallowed. Hey, I forgot to reach for the water cup. I was stressing. I heard the girls leave. No assuring taunting for me!
Soon I am done. He notes I have a small cavity that can wait. It has waited two years, really.
I'm done and don't have 50 pesos. He can't make change, so I get off for 500 pesos. The girls are back...they went to get a beer for Shirley's post dental nerves. They want to get out of there but the dentist calls me in to translate. A gringo woman broke a tooth badly. He examines. He tells me what needs to be done. She want so know how much. $300 route canal, post and build up, porcelain crown. She says she is leaving on the 14th, yadayada, the doc could get it done, the lab could be paid for a rush job, yadayada. The girls want to go. Shirley at the wheel, pulls up curbside so I don't have to step down, and repeats in front of the drug store for me.
And we're off into the night with the wind at our backs. I inside and let Lora out of her pet carrier. She sniffs my things, decides I haven't been near a dog or food, and goes to her bed in my bedroom. I join her but first brush my teeth. End of story!
So I told him we'd be there at 5 pm. The girls come in as I'm wrapping things up and wait until I tell Lora to get in her carrier...zoom, she does. I picked up the wrong ATM card, and Fran went back inside to get it. Then we were off!
Their golf cart is a whole lot faster than mine because they got big tires put on it with a jacked up chassis. It also presents a problem for Shirley and me to get in and out of. The back is higher, so Shrley takes it, and as we are going against the wind, Shirley is saying she's gonna drive home because Fran is stalling out when she slows and then jackrabbiting! Hold on girls, Fran shouts, and Shirley holds on to her girls. Wink wink.
Along they way, against the wind, we shout to each other about how petrified we are. We all hate going to the dentist.
We arrive 5 minutes early, enough time to see the beautiful hotel lobby with a coffee shop that sells the kinds of things that dentists hate and the new setting for Cazuela M & J at the building's entrance. We sit down and the dentista opens his door. Shirley makes the sign of the cross and enters. Fran goes to the coffee shop, checks it out and brings me a bottled Starbucks cappucino.
I am called by Canales Dominguez to tell Shirley that he is going to clean the root canal, repost and build up and seat the crown. It will cost $90.
I return to the lobby and Fran and I yell to Shirley a few times over the space at the top of the wall. We could hear everything that was going on. Sheiza, she said. That's shit in German. Shirley is not German.
I am called back in to translate. It's going to take 45 minutes. Oi vey, she says as I leave. This is a woman who made the sign of the cross. I sit back down. 45 minutes later to the minute, exactly, Shirley walks out smiling. He's so gentle, she says, smiling. Fran goes in with me.
He says it will cost $40. We taunt Fran, too, a payback from Shirley! Mmyaumya, she responds with the dentist's hands in her mouth. Then it's my turn.
I only have pesos, I say. He quotes me 650 pesos. Ok, but I'm a resident. He smiles and tells me to sit down. The first time he told me to rinse, I just swallowed. Hey, I forgot to reach for the water cup. I was stressing. I heard the girls leave. No assuring taunting for me!
Soon I am done. He notes I have a small cavity that can wait. It has waited two years, really.
I'm done and don't have 50 pesos. He can't make change, so I get off for 500 pesos. The girls are back...they went to get a beer for Shirley's post dental nerves. They want to get out of there but the dentist calls me in to translate. A gringo woman broke a tooth badly. He examines. He tells me what needs to be done. She want so know how much. $300 route canal, post and build up, porcelain crown. She says she is leaving on the 14th, yadayada, the doc could get it done, the lab could be paid for a rush job, yadayada. The girls want to go. Shirley at the wheel, pulls up curbside so I don't have to step down, and repeats in front of the drug store for me.
And we're off into the night with the wind at our backs. I inside and let Lora out of her pet carrier. She sniffs my things, decides I haven't been near a dog or food, and goes to her bed in my bedroom. I join her but first brush my teeth. End of story!
March 1, 2009
Where has Zina been? Uh, eating....
First, it was the "Cleveland Delegation." First, me on the left, then Kristina Kuprevicius Dunn, Jules Belkin, Jb Dunn, Marci Belkin, Chris Hixson and Mitch. They wanted some authentic local food, so on Friday night, we went to Baltazar and Gloria and Loncheria La Gloria, who made coconut shrimp and garlic grouper with fantastic veggies: broccoli and zuccini pulled together by avacado! Who'd have thought...There were also baked potatoes. We ate family style, off the four orders of shrimp and three orders of fish.I had a diet coke, everyone else had a beer and we had three orders of guacamole. Total bill, a tad over 1,000 pesos.
This morning, my guests of two weeks, Barbara and Janice were rousted out of bed to be at a conchinita pibil stand at 7:15 to meet the Cleveland Delegation, who wanted to be shown the ropes.
Kneeling is Kristina, and at the left is Jb and Marci with Barbara and Janice. Haven't heard back from the Cleveland Delegation abouth how they like Maya pulled pork, but Barbara said it was the best pork she ever had. Our amount cost 50 pesos and netted three tacos each. The Cleveland Delegation got a kilo for 250 pesos.
On Saturday night, the Cleveland delegation opted to break up and head different ways. Barbara and Janice and I went to La Bruja, where the seafood was fresh, nearly as fresh as my friend Daniel, who was there with his Atlanta Delegation.
Daniel wasn't sure how he like his new hairdo, a bedhead look Michelle styled for him! Muy hip! Barbara and Janice couldn't get over me eating octopus! Really yummy.
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