ot. Pierre

PAULITICS & PERSPECTIVES

A Canadian friend named Victor
writes from Manzanillo, Colima:

Dear Paul:

[can’t tell this story to the grin-

gos in my trailer park. None of

“ them knows more than six words of
Spanish, but they all know every-
thing there is to know about
Mexico and Mexicans, aimost all of
them bad things.

. That they get cheated down here
is an article of faith among them,
and why should ] demolish other
people's faiths?

So 1 won't bother telling this
story to them, but I wanted to tell it
to’ somebody and you will recog-
nize the truth in it because you
spend time down here.

It’s about Esmeralda. Esmeralda
runs a silver shop in this town, I’ve

“known her 15, maybe 20 years.
Nothing sexual, just an acquain-
taticeship.

“ 3Ve don’ t even do business
together. ‘It happens that siiver has
never turned me on and I don’t t buy
the stuff.

‘Esmeralda did well on siivez.
“When her husband died and {eft her
with two little girls, she started the
shop and it was a good shop. She
-had.2 good eye for quality, | guess,
and a good way with the customers.

‘. A few years ago, Esmeralda
ade more than $25,000 Canadian ©
Tom the silver shop. Wealth.”
She boilght a a Volkswagen

Beetle and she moved inte a small
‘purtaieal ina good part af town.

However, business i
Manzanillo isa t what i used to be.
Vhe tourists aren't flocking here
any more,

‘artly it's because the Salinas
government pul ina system of
margaging your credit curd when
you bring your car across the bore
der,

It doesn’t bother me any mare
than handing my credit cand toa
hotel desk clerk, but it scares the
hell out of some of the gringes and
they stay up in the Arizona and
California sun belt instead of com.
ing south into Mexico.

Another problem is the power
plant for the Lazaro Cardenas steel
works avarby, They spew out four
stackfalls of dirty air and
Manzanillo often sits under a smog
blanket as bad as Los Angeles.

The Lazaro Cardenas steelworks
loses a lithe money with every ton
of stecl if produces, but they say
they can make it up on volume.

What else do you expect? After
all, i's a government project. Think
of how much money you and | are
going to Jose on government pro-
jects such as the Hibernia oil field
off Newfoundland.

Anyway, this brings me to
money and Esmeralda’s little silver
shop. The tourists aren’t here, The
smokestack people don't buy
bracelets and earrings. She's in
trouble.

She’s behind in her rent. The sil-
ver people in Tasco will only let her
get $500 worth of stuff on credit
and the shelves lock pretty thin.
And if the Beetle breaks, it will stay
broken because there is no money
to fix it

So the other day I took
Esmeralda out for coffee and [ said,
“Esmeralda, | have a proposition
for you, and [ want you to take a
day to think about it.

“I brought down here S00 more
American dollars than [ need, I mis-
calculated how much | would need.
So you cas have it, if you will
accept certain conditions.”

The conditions [ laid down were
that she and [ were never going to
talk about the loan again. It would
be interest-free. There was no set
time for repayment. She could

The sale you've been waiting for all year. An

opportunity to save from 20 to 50% on bundreds

of quahos: cultured pearl strands as well as

 Vancottver’s largest selection of peart

Jewellery... Shop now while

the selection is at

ts best.

repay when if was convenient to
her.

“Maybe,” Tsaid, “bE will be dead
py the time you saat to pay me

buck. Im getting on, you Know.
But that's all right. ‘Tam dead,
vou give the money tomy son, Cll
jeave you his name and address."

“The S00 doesn't sound like
nich, but it would make a huge
difference for her, She could get
more silver, an which she makes a
35 ta 43% markup and the markup
would pay the rentand yas for the
car, What you call meeting the pay
roll.

Next day we met again, and she
said, “Victor, ft have thought about
the matter you mentioned yesterday
and f regret to say East decline
your offer.”

Why?" LE said.

“Because | have a feeling that t
an gaing to be bankrupt and |
could never repay the loan, | would
worry and worry and worry about
that.” ’

“Esmeralda,” { said, “tT told you
it's money E don’t need. | brought
down more American dollars than |
needed. Hit goes, it’s not the end of
the world."

“It would worry me," she said,

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BELLE EPOQUE

“My God." | thought, “if only
we could elect a government in
Canada that was that worried about
me dosing ay maney.”

What t actually said was, “What

qu

have you got to lose?

She said friendship and ended
the discussion, and fam coming
home with S500 more thaa [really
Want to Own

SANDRA E. McKELLAR

LAWYER

¢ Divorce

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© Separation Agreements
Family Violence

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