Musings from our Puerto Rico Homestead

Not necessarily related to politics, race or really anything serious, these musings are based on my observations living in Puerto Rico.

An Ode to Willis and His Sneakers

This ode to Willis and his sneakers is meant to be one part humor, two parts seriousness. Willis is my cousin by marriage. I have a first cousin named Nicole. She is the daughter of Tom and Kathie in upstate New York. Her great-grandmother (and Tom's grandmother) and my paternal grandmother were sisters.  Nicole's husband, Willis,…
Read more

Little Red Hyundai

This is the story of a driver of a Little Red Hyundai who think she's behind the wheel of a Little Red Corvette and who's got issues.  So I was driving down the mountain this morning, on my way to the town of Arecibo to do my food shopping, this red Hyundai sedan appears in back…
Read more

A Day in the Life of This Transplanted Utuadaño

What do: Los rotos (giant potholes) Road closure of the main road from my house to the town of Utuado A detour down an alternate road Me unable to back up the hill to allow a car to pass because I have zero depth perception The starter in my car dying Three men—one a client…
Read more

Fixing the Holes Where the Cars Fall In

It’s three years into his term as mayor and he’s right on time. Roads badly in need of repair are getting fixed around here. The one-lane road outside our farm had holes so large you could set up tables for four people quite comfortably. Living in the countryside you learn quickly how to perfect the…
Read more

Doing Laundry in the Tropics

When pondering whether to do laundry in the tropics, one must carefully consider not what the meteorologist reports to you, but what the sky tells you. If the pretty lady with the elaborately painted nails, four inch heels, in the skirt hiked up to here tells you there is no rain in the forecast, assume…
Read more

Speak Rapidly and Carry a Machete

On our way home from the home of friends one day, we popped over to pay the wife’s sister and her husband for a visit. Miguel, “Miguelito” directs me to the back of their property where I find Lucilla, dressed in shorts and a tee shirt, drenched in sweat, machete in hand, hacking away at dead…
Read more

Politics in Puerto Rico

This was originally written in 2010 and so it might seem a little dated. High up on the list of discussions for drunken philosophers anywhere in the world is politics. My doctor tells me nearly every time I see her, "Never engage a Puerto Rican in a discussion about politics." Generally I am not one…
Read more