Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Our next trip up north....

We are making plans to fly up north in July. We will be arriving in Portland on Friday, July 13th. Just in time for the Smith Family Picnic on Saturday, July 14th. We are so happy we will be able to attend.

We are planning to purchase a car while we are in Portland and then drive to Tri Cities to visit Jake and Jackie, then on to Yakima to visit my Mom and Al and then up to Seattle to visit with all the other kids and grandkids. We will be leaving for Maz on Sunday, July 29th out of Portland. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone during this trip, as well as, a relief from the hot/humid weather down here for a few weeks. We will be returning in September to drive our new car back to Maz. You can certainly get by with the public transportation, ie buses, cabs and pulmonias but having a car will be more convenient and allow us to do some leisure traveling into the interior of Mexico. Lots of interesting towns we would like to visit.

On June 30th we will be retired 1 year. Just can't believe it! Has gone by so fast. It has certainly been a transition year for us in a lot of respects but we are settling into the mexican culture and trying hard to understand the mentality. No big rush for anything down here which really is a better way of life but hard to adjust to when you come from the fast pace of Seattle. Reminds me of this story. You may have seen it before. A little long but worth the read. Enjoy.

A little story about a Mexican fisherman illustrates success in a simple life well lived.
A Little Story
The businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor, how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years." "But what then, señor?" The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." "Millions, señor? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"-Author Unknown

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