Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

The Snowbirds are back


jrm30655

Recommended Posts

Yesterday there was an event outside our village home and there were nearly 100 Mexican people standing outside my house.  When I had to leave for an appointment I simply opened the swing door, used my hand to make a motion to part the sea of people, they smiled and complied.  As I backed out I smiled and said gracias. 

Compare that to the night before when there was a car parked in front of our garage and my husband asked around, found the owner at a business nearby and asked if he'd be moving soon because we were trying to back out of our garage.  My husband got a verbal tirade from the man with the entitled and superior attitude and the U.S. plated car.  When we returned home we found, what I consider, a nasty note from the offender calling us a couple of a##es. 

When we find a Mexican parked in front of our door they usually come running and always apologize for the inconvenience.  Often they leave someone in the car to immediately move the car or fetch the driver.  Always we get a smile and an apology.

Before you criticize us for buying a village house with parking on our side of the street, I'll remind you that when we bought the house I made note that the parking was on the opposite side and wouldn't block our garage.  Two weeks after moving in a neighbor across the street orchestrated a change that everyone would start parking on my side of the street.  It's seldom a major problem, but in our eight years here there is definitely a problem when the snow birds return and can't understand the sign with a big E with the red slash through it and the words, "Gracias Por No Estacionarse" also applies to people with limited Spanish skills.  It further confounds me why some people seem to check their manners at the border.

Just another example of why I would rather deal with 100 Mexicans to 1 rude gringo.

Note.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How funny. What does “my gay” daughter (my and gay underlined twice yet) have to do with illegally parking your vehicle? I like the “disabled American vet” and “can not walk far” excuse added just in case my gay daughter isn’t excuse enough. 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The protocol is simple.  It is not OK to park in front of someone's garage doors, particularly if a notice of usage is posted.  If someone has it this might be a good opportunity to post the phone number of the transitos who will ticket the offender and/or a local towing service who will just come and haul the car off.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty pissy alright.  Thankfully, my garage is on the side of the busy street with no parking and it's stayed that way. My sympathies for the neighbors on the other side since it's near LCS and the "entitled" just park any old time in front of their well marked garages and any disabled space, too.

One fella in Chapala has his garage marked in English and Spanish but has made it even clearer by putting a picture of a tow truck there, too. Another person leaves notes on the windshield saying that she wants to leave and will wait ten minutes before calling the tow truck.  This should take care of those who claim they only "left it there for a few minutes."

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The person whose garage was blocked was much more polite than I would have been. Just east of maskaras there is a garage door with the sign "Se Ponchen Llantas Gratis". That may not be perfect Spanish but I never saw anyone dare park there. A good ice pick to back up that threat would be a wise investment. I could care less how disabled someone is, parking in front of a driveway is never acceptable. OK, if there was a trail of blood leading to a hospital I might consider an exception. Some people just feel entitled and if it were me, I would have that person's placa memorized for future use. If you want to be a little more subtle, order these stickers to slap on an offending vehicle. Applied properly they are a bugger to scrape off. Probably would never pull that again in front of your driveway.

https://www.amazon.com/10-VIOLATION-PARKING-Sticker-stickers/dp/B012Y809OM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510945330&sr=8-2&keywords=no+parking+stickers+hard+to+r

PS If you "broke his handle" good for you.

  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Xena said:

How funny. What does “my gay” daughter (my and gay underlined twice yet) have to do with illegally parking your vehicle? I like the “disabled American vet” and “can not walk far” excuse added just in case my gay daughter isn’t excuse enough. 

Actually I think he wrote "gal" and then crossed it out. He is sensitive to sexual bad behavior but not normal human behavior. Guess he didn't want to be called sexist. :lol::lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, pappysmarket said:

Actually I think he wrote "gal" and then crossed it out. He is sensitive to sexual bad behavior but not normal human behavior. Guess he didn't want to be called sexist. :lol::lol:

Nope.... it is definitely "my gay" daughter.... only he underlined it twice just in case one didn't get the intensity of his feelings (either toward the owner or his daughter, can't tell!). 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, RickS said:

Nope.... it is definitely "my gay" daughter.... only he underlined it twice just in case one didn't get the intensity of his feelings (either toward the owner or his daughter, can't tell!). 

Yeah Rick I do think you're right. It looked like he crossed it out but now I see he just likes a really long right side of the "Y". Gracias

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be clear, we did not break the man's door handle.  In the THREE minutes he was gone my husband took a photograph of the man's license plates, noted the make, model and color of the car, and looked for a hang tag from the nearby gated community.  My friends that live there will be glad to know that he is not their neighbor.   Nor did he have a disabled hang tag or disabled plate.  My husband then waited for my observant neighbor to come to the door and tell us where we would find the owner of the car.  In the THREE minutes my husband stood and listened to the man speaking a string of English to my Mexican neighbors.  The husband understands a few words of English and the wife none.  My husband deduced that this was going to be a long transaction due to the communication barrier and asked the man if he'd be long.  I did watch as he opened the rear car door, climbed into the front seat and unlocked the front door from the inside due to the broken handle.  I should be so disabled.  

 

When we relayed this story to our friends at lunch yesterday they roared with laughter at the characterization of my husband.  Everyone knows that he's the milk toast personality in the family.  I'm the mean one and I sat, without saying a word, in the drivers seat of the car in the garage simply waiting for the car to move.  

 

 A few years ago when our neighbor's son-in-law "inadvertently" parked in front of our garage leaving town with the keys for a week we did not retaliate.  That is not what we do.  That is why there are buses and friends that will give us rides.  Our neighbors and their relatives have ben very nice to us since and that is what you earn in return for not being vindictive.

 

My husband also thought it said gal/daughter, but most think gay.  It's possible that in Virginia a gal (girlfriend) and daughter can be one and the same, but in either case there was no one else in the car, so I don't know who he consulted for this opinion.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I lived on Hildago, just a couple of houses from 6 corners.  parking was always at a premium.

There was a family that owned a bodega across the street and we had a deal.  They parked their truck in front of my garage.  If I wanted out I just walked across the street and they would back the truck out, I'd get out and tell them roughly how long I'd be gone.  When I came back, I'd beep the horn and he'd move the truck, I'd get in the garage and he'd park in front of the doors again.  

It worked great.  He had a guaranteed parking spot and I knew who was parked there.

The kids played soccer in the street and they'd kick the ball over the wall.  I'd let them in to get the ball and if it was in one of the trees, go get a pole to get it out.  They were always polite and always said thanks.

In a year, I never had any problems at all.

About 6 months after I left, the people that rented it next saw me and were bitching and moaning about the neighborhood.  He had called the cops several times about people parking in front of the garage and he said he had a big collection of soccer balls.  They had been robbed twice and were very unhappy.

I never had any of those problems.  The kids stood guard while I was gone.  They knew that I was a good guy that always got their ball back.

Being a good neighbor works almost everywhere in the world, including Mexico.  

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the sign that says Respete Mi Entrada Y Yo Respetare Su Coche (Respect my entrance and I'll respect your car).

A friend used to have a stack of business cards in his vehicle  to slip under the windshield wipers of those folks who can't seem to manage to park their cars in a space without being over the lines, therefore taking up 2 parking slots. It said "If you f**k like you park, you'll never get it in".

  • Like 2
  • Haha 3
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a snowbird. I would like to politely request that the entire group not be lumped together as one large, loud, rude, uncultured mass. I have owned a house is Ajijic longer than many full-timers have heard of the place. Our personal family situation means that a] I have had to delay my retirement, and b] still cannot come down full-time.

Yes, there are many people who have no sense of what Mexico is about, make no effort to change or learn the language, and want Ajijic to become Carmel, CA. I wish they would leave, regardless of how much time they spend in our wonderful aldea.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Canada-Mike said:

I'm a snowbird. I would like to politely request that the entire group not be lumped together as one large, loud, rude, uncultured mass. I have owned a house is Ajijic longer than many full-timers have heard of the place. Our personal family situation means that a] I have had to delay my retirement, and b] still cannot come down full-time.

Yes, there are many people who have no sense of what Mexico is about, make no effort to change or learn the language, and want Ajijic to become Carmel, CA. I wish they would leave, regardless of how much time they spend in our wonderful aldea.

You are absolutely right and we're looking forward to the permanent arrival of Canadians who, like some of my friends, are nice, polite, low key people who are asset to the community.

 

  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, daisy2013 said:

Do not lump everyone together, everyone is different.you can get 2 people from different countries, some are alike and some definitely not. Do not pit one country from another...enough 

Oh my, Daisy. You are taking this thread way too seriously. 

  • Confused 1
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...