Letters 
July 28, 2006

Send your letters to the editor to letters@atencionsanmiguel.org Atención 
will not publish offensive or defamatory material.

Editor,
The American Legion and its Auxiliary have provided school supplies, computers, educational CD programs and supplies for nearly 1,000 primary students in the country schools surrounding San Miguel. 

For the first time in two years, we held our 4th of July cookout and auction. The total amount raised was 14,900 pesos, all of which will be spent on education.

It is only through the generosity of the following merchants and restaurants that we are able to continue these programs: Casa Cohen, Bagel Café, Milgras, La Jacaranda, Britt Zaist, Henry Vermillion, Border Crossings, Evangie Hair Salon, Liz Winslow, Darla, Barbara Porter, 7th Heaven, VIP cards, L’Escargot, Azafrán, El Campanario, La Puertecita, Alfredo’s, Romano’s, Berlin, Market Bistro, Bacco, Tío Lucas, Pueblo Viejo, Bugambilla, El Pegaso, Don Quixote, La Mansión del Bosque, Hecho en México, Bella Italia, Michiconas, Casa Payo, Nirvana, Harry’s, La Fragua, China Palace, and Santa Monica. Thank you for your support.
                                                        Ann Iaun, President
                                                 American Legion Auxiliary 


Editor,
Nobody asked me, but … it seems to me that eliminating parking on Cardo and Ancha de San Antonio will have little or no effect on the purpose of the new El Cardo parking lot, which as I understand it, is to make central San Miguel more open to pedestrian traffic and less congested by automobiles. People who attend events at the Instituto, who shop on Ancho de San Antonio, or who attend activities and performances as well as services at St. Paul’s Church will be forced to seek parking elsewhere, of course. Some will drive closer to Centro to park, and possibly a few will use the parking lot, increasing revenues for the city. Centro will continue to be as congested as it is now—if not more so.

The solution seems obvious to me. Eliminate long-term parking on any street within three blocks of the Jardín and operate a free shuttle from the parking lot to Centro. Restrict parking on these streets to ten minutes for loading and unloading. As it is now, Hidalgo between Mesones and San Francisco is almost always double-parked its entire length, and Mesones between Colegio and Juarez is frequently virtually unpassable. Double-park delays occur on most parking streets as people cruise looking for parking or stop with lights blinking in the middle of the street to conduct their business, and trucks park in the center of the street to unload produce and merchandise for stores. If there were no parking in the central area, fewer cars would be cruising, and tourists and residents wanting to visit restaurants, shops, churches, or the Jardín could park at the garage, shuttle to the Jardín, and enjoy walking the streets of central San Miguel.

Ancho de San Antonio and Cardo are wide streets a long way from Centro. Eliminating parking there will not improve the ambiance in the heart of the city and will greatly inconvenience residents who have business in that area.
                                                                                Gerald Camp


Editor,
I’d had a couple of minor heart attacks of the cholesterol variety back in ’98. No further problems since then as long as I took my daily Pravochol (Pravastatin in Canada, Pravastatina in Mexico.) So, we made our big decision: We were moving to San Miguel!

However profitable, we “abandoned” our comfy home of several decades and bought a beautiful home here. We also had to give up our “gap” insurance, as many of you know. But, what bothered me more was the fear of collapsing in the street, unidentified and unable to gasp out enough bad Spanish to survive.

A few weeks after arriving here I spotted the perfect life saver: two smiling people sitting at a table in the Jardín displaying the best-looking Red Cross Med-Alert bracelet I’ve ever seen. I immediately signed onto the program, purchased a numbered bracelet and filled out a medical history, which is loaded into the Red Cross master computer and quickly available to the ambulance paramedics.

I admire the efforts this Red Cross Association, an auxiliary of Cruz Roja, so much that I joined it also, and now you can find me nearly every Wednesday afternoon “selling” bracelets and pendants in the Jardín.

Go ahead and ask me why I’m doing that and I’ll answer: “Just trying to save your life!”
                                                                    Ernie White