New Listing, Casa Lobo, La Cruz, Just $115,000 USD

Robert:

Patty de La Mora has just listed a cute and affordable house 2 bedroom 2 bath in the heart of La Cruz, about 3 blocks from the marina, for just $115,000 This is a real bargain; similar vacant lots costs this much or more.

Here is the link to the web page for this listing, with more photos and data:

CLICK HERE

The "Little Platoons" of Burke and Tocqueville

"The truth is that government, of one kind or another, is manifest in all our attempts to live in peace with our fellows.

We have rights that shield us from those who are appointed to rule us—many of them ancient common-law rights, like that defined by habeas corpus. But those rights are real personal possessions only because government is there to enforce them—and if necessary to enforce them against itself. Government is not what so many conservatives believe it to be, and what people on the left always believe it to be when it is in hands other than their own—namely a system of power and domination. 

Government is a search for order, and for power only insofar as power is required by order. It is present in the family, in the village, in the free associations of neighbors, and in the “little platoons” extolled by Burke and Tocqueville. It is there in the first movement of affection and good will, from which the bonds of society grow. For it is simply the other side of freedom, and the thing that makes freedom possible."

Roger Scruton

Exploiters vs Nurturers

"THE EXPLOITER WISHES TO EARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BY AS LITTLE WORK AS POSSIBLE; THE NURTURER EXPECTS, CERTAINLY, TO HAVE A DECENT LIVING FROM HIS WORK, BUT HIS CHARACTERISTIC WISH IS TO WORK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE. THE EXPLOITER TYPICALLY SERVES AN INSTITUTION OR ORGANIZATION; THE NURTURER SERVES LAND, HOUSEHOLD, COMMUNITY, PLACE. THE EXPLOITER THINKS IN TERMS OF NUMBERS, QUANTITIES, 'HARD FACTS'; THE NURTURER IN TERMS OF CHARACTER, CONDITION, QUALITY, AND KIND.” 

WENDELL BERRY

Poofed Up Hair, Pass the Snorkel

Robert:

We are nearing the start of the rainy season. Already the humidity is here in force. You feel like you need a snorkel to breathe. But there are good aspects to it too. Your skin and contact lenses don't feel so old and dry. And, the humidity poofs up your hair, which is a gift to those of us with only a dwindling comb-over.

For about three days now we have been getting cumulonimbus clouds building over the Sierras. The rainy season always kicks in in the high country, and down south toward Acapulco, a few weeks before it does here in Vallarta. These storms in the Sierras are always our precursors.

Typically, the first real thunderstorm here in the bay area occurs on or very near the 15th of June.

"...The Contagion May Spread..."

On her aggregating web site, Maria Popova presents this week a wonderful letter written by E.B. (Elwyn Brooks) White. One of his readers was going through a bleak period of despair, and wrote to White that he (the reader) had lost faith in life and humanity.

White's response, to this forlorn, lost stranger, is brief, but consummately wise and lovely.

Dear Mr. Nadeau:

As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.

Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society – things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. 

It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope.  And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

Sincerely,

E. B. White

White was a quiet and gentle man, and extremely shy. James Thurber describes him this way:

Most of us, out of a politeness made up of faint curiosity and profound resignation, go out to meet the smiling stranger with a gesture of surrender and a fixed grin, but White has always taken to the fire escape. He has avoided the Man in the Reception Room as he has avoided the interviewer, the photographer, the microphone, the rostrum, the literary tea, and the Stork Club. His life is his own. He is the only writer of prominence I know of who could walk through the Algonquin lobby or between the tables at Jack and Charlie's and be recognized only by his friends.

 — James Thurber, E. B. W., "Credos and Curios"

Video Tour, Casa de la Bendicion

Robert:

Deborah has done a walk-through video tour of Casa de la Bendicion, an immaculate, bright, and cheerful house here in Bucerias:



Here is the link to the web page for Casa de la Bendicion: http://rfasoc.com/benedicion.html

Video Tour, Casa Jamur.

Robert:

Deborah has just shot an HD video of  Casa Jamur, the cute little house on a hill in La Cruz, with panoramic views of the bay, for just $199,500 USD.




Here is the link to the web page for Casa Jamur, with all the photos and data: http://rfasoc.com/jamur.html