Paul Herman on thu 20 mar 03
Greetings Earl, Don and All,
I've never been there (Tijuana) but your posts on the subject bring to
mind a short story by Bukowski. In it he writes:
"....stayed one night in San Diego, then took a taxi to Tijuana. he
switched taxis at the border and the Mexican cabbie found him a good
hotel in the center of town. he put his bag of rags in a closet in the
room and then went out to check the town. it was about 6 p.m. and the
pink sun seemed to soothe the poverty and anger of the town. poor shits,
close enough to the US to speak the language and know it's corruption,
but only able to drain away a little of the wealth, like a suckerfish
attached to the belly of a shark."
from "Tales of Ordinary Madness" 1967.
Sounds like it hasn't shaken off that character.
best wishes,
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
423-725 Scott Road
Doyle, California 96109 US
potter@psln.com
----------
>From: Earl Brunner
> Did you walk across the border? A couple of years ago, I was brave
> enough to drive my Explorer across. What a harrowing experience. I had
> even stopped and pre purchased special insurance. This crazy kamikaze
> bus driver just about ran me off the road within two minutes of the
> border and it went downhill from there. I was SO happy to get it back
> across the border without a scratch.
>
> Don Goodrich wrote:
>> Hi Faye,
>> Sunday's side trip was a stark contrast to the quality and camaraderie of
>> NCECA. It seemed a good idea to at least see the famed Tijuana tourist
>> traps, since I had a few hours before my flight. The city was certainly
>> living up to its reputation that morning. I felt like a prey animal at a
>> predators' convention. Within minutes after crossing the border I was
>> offered just about anything I might want by a number of eager young fellows
>> in those streets. Lost count of all the smiling "No, thank you"s I uttered.
>>
Frank Walker on thu 20 mar 03
Don't let the border scare you. Just ignore them all. My daughter works with
a mission group in Ensenada about an hour below TJ and enduring the border
is just part of the daily commute across our great southern border. The
colors and new sights can be overwhelming and inspiring.
jsut say "No Bueno", and take it all in.
Frank
----- Original Message -----
From: "Earl Brunner"
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 6:44 PM
Subject: Re: The Painted Pots of Tijuana
> Did you walk across the border? A couple of years ago, I was brave
> enough to drive my Explorer across. What a harrowing experience. I had
> even stopped and pre purchased special insurance. This crazy kamikaze
> bus driver just about ran me off the road within two minutes of the
> border and it went downhill from there. I was SO happy to get it back
> across the border without a scratch.
>
> Don Goodrich wrote:
> > Hi Faye,
> > Sunday's side trip was a stark contrast to the quality and camaraderie
of
> > NCECA. It seemed a good idea to at least see the famed Tijuana tourist
> > traps, since I had a few hours before my flight. The city was certainly
> > living up to its reputation that morning. I felt like a prey animal at a
> > predators' convention. Within minutes after crossing the border I was
> > offered just about anything I might want by a number of eager young
fellows
> > in those streets. Lost count of all the smiling "No, thank you"s I
uttered.
> >
> >
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
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melpots@pclink.com.
>
Don Goodrich on thu 20 mar 03
Hi Faye,
Sunday's side trip was a stark contrast to the quality and camaraderie of
NCECA. It seemed a good idea to at least see the famed Tijuana tourist
traps, since I had a few hours before my flight. The city was certainly
living up to its reputation that morning. I felt like a prey animal at a
predators' convention. Within minutes after crossing the border I was
offered just about anything I might want by a number of eager young fellows
in those streets. Lost count of all the smiling "No, thank you"s I uttered.
As I wandered the streets, one shop caught my attention with its stacks
of large molded terra cotta pots out front. After I snapped a photo, a
voice from within asked what color I wanted. Inside, a woman with two open
gallons of house paint and a big brush in hand was finishing the morning's
batch of wares.
This in contrast to the shop in the next block, selling stacks of little
black, evidently pitfired pots. The proprietor told me they were made by
natives in Oaxaca, but who knows. All seemed to have been carefully made
with plenty of holes, so there was no chance they could be used for food. I
picked a couple that were big enough to hold votive candles and were
punctured enough to let the light through, argued the seller down to 100
pesos for the two, and returned to the States. The customs guy made a joke
about bringing pot back from Mexico, but opined that they might be genuine.
All in all, the visit was a stark lesson in contrasts, not the least of
which was the juxtaposition of Tijuana's shops with their throngs of U.S.
tourists, and the huge factory outlet mall just north of the border where
middle class Mexicans go to shop.
Fabienne wrote:
>This year, there is an insane amount of pictures because there were three
>of us taking pictures, Bonnie Hellman, Don Goodrich, and myself. By the way
>Don, did you make it back from Tijuana? Last I heard from you Sunday, you
>were on your way there. :D
Cheers,
Don Goodrich
goodrichdn@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/goodrichdn/
Earl Brunner on thu 20 mar 03
Did you walk across the border? A couple of years ago, I was brave
enough to drive my Explorer across. What a harrowing experience. I had
even stopped and pre purchased special insurance. This crazy kamikaze
bus driver just about ran me off the road within two minutes of the
border and it went downhill from there. I was SO happy to get it back
across the border without a scratch.
Don Goodrich wrote:
> Hi Faye,
> Sunday's side trip was a stark contrast to the quality and camaraderie of
> NCECA. It seemed a good idea to at least see the famed Tijuana tourist
> traps, since I had a few hours before my flight. The city was certainly
> living up to its reputation that morning. I felt like a prey animal at a
> predators' convention. Within minutes after crossing the border I was
> offered just about anything I might want by a number of eager young fellows
> in those streets. Lost count of all the smiling "No, thank you"s I uttered.
>
>
Roger Korn on fri 21 mar 03
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the great quote. Still right on the money, except that the
wealth gap is even worse now. If you keep your eyes straight ahead, it
looks like things are improved, but that's just the new wealth your
seeing - all of which belongs to the old wealthy class. The plight of
the "...poor shits..." remains.
Roger
Paul Herman wrote:
>Greetings Earl, Don and All,
>
>I've never been there (Tijuana) but your posts on the subject bring to
>mind a short story by Bukowski. In it he writes:
>
>"....stayed one night in San Diego, then took a taxi to Tijuana. he
>switched taxis at the border and the Mexican cabbie found him a good
>hotel in the center of town. he put his bag of rags in a closet in the
>room and then went out to check the town. it was about 6 p.m. and the
>pink sun seemed to soothe the poverty and anger of the town. poor shits,
>close enough to the US to speak the language and know it's corruption,
>but only able to drain away a little of the wealth, like a suckerfish
>attached to the belly of a shark."
>
>from "Tales of Ordinary Madness" 1967.
>
>Sounds like it hasn't shaken off that character.
>
>best wishes,
>
>Paul Herman
>Great Basin Pottery
>423-725 Scott Road
>Doyle, California 96109 US
>potter@psln.com
>
>----------
>
>
>>From: Earl Brunner
>>Did you walk across the border? A couple of years ago, I was brave
>>enough to drive my Explorer across. What a harrowing experience. I had
>>even stopped and pre purchased special insurance. This crazy kamikaze
>>bus driver just about ran me off the road within two minutes of the
>>border and it went downhill from there. I was SO happy to get it back
>>across the border without a scratch.
>>
>>Don Goodrich wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hi Faye,
>>> Sunday's side trip was a stark contrast to the quality and camaraderie of
>>>NCECA. It seemed a good idea to at least see the famed Tijuana tourist
>>>traps, since I had a few hours before my flight. The city was certainly
>>>living up to its reputation that morning. I felt like a prey animal at a
>>>predators' convention. Within minutes after crossing the border I was
>>>offered just about anything I might want by a number of eager young fellows
>>>in those streets. Lost count of all the smiling "No, thank you"s I uttered.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
--
Roger Korn
McKay Creek Ceramics
In AZ: PO Box 463
4215 Culpepper Ranch Rd
Rimrock, AZ 86335
928-567-5699 <-
In OR: PO Box 436
31330 NW Pacific Ave.
North Plains, OR 97133
503-647-5464
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