Letters June 30, 2006 

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

Editor,
We can take action. We can take action together and separately ... alone, in twos or threes or in a crowd. We can gather together and speak this prayer that a courageous sister, Beverly Donofrio, had the wits and grace to hold close to her in a time of serious trial. We can hold it close to us at any time of day or night. We can walk the streets repeating it. We can build our strength, honor her wisdom and join our voices in a chorus of prayer and respect. Thank you, Beverly. Thank you to those who have treated her with respect and caring. Whether atheist or believer, by learning this prayer we also give thanks to the culture we are embedded in.

Dios te salve, María, llena eres de gracia,
el Señor es contigo.
Bendita tú eres entre todas las mujeres,
y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.
Santa María, Madre de Dios,
ruega por nosotros, pecadores,
ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.
Amén
Janel Beeman

Editor,
On the past two Saturdays my wife and I have participated in two exceptional opportunities to learn about the history and culture of this region from the best history teacher I have ever met. The teacher is J. César del Río García (he introduced himself as “César, like the emperor of Rome or the salad”), and he has been the tour guide on two tours sponsored by the Instituto Allende, the first to Guanajuato and the second to Querétaro. We had expected the tours to be just that--sightseeing tours. They turned out to be full days of the most engaging and informative lecture/discussions of a wide range of topics, especially the history, culture, and politics of Mexico and of San Miguel and the neighboring cities we were visiting. When he is not leading the Instituto tours, César is a lawyer, Profesor de Derecho at the Instituto “Las Casas.” He has had several careers, as an employee of the Municipality of San Miguel and as teacher and principal of a preparatory school in the city. César is in a way a gift to the city from the Biblioteca Pública, because as a university student he faced having to quit school for financial reasons. His mother persuaded him to apply for a Biblioteca scholarship, and he so impressed the interviewers that he was granted a full scholarship to pursue whatever studies interested him.

To experience César before going on one of his tours, I advise people to attend his lectures at the Instituto. César is indeed a master teacher, who not only seems to know every name and every date in the history of his country, but who makes history a series of fascinating stories. 
Gerald Camp

Editor,
After reading about the San Miguel police “crisis,” I have a suggestion that perhaps could be passed on to officials who deal with public safety for the entire community, Mexican and foreign. My suggestion is to increase the number of foot patrols in Centro and in the colonias, preferably with the officers walking in pairs. Several years ago, there were quite a number of policewomen patrolling the streets, and they did a wonderful job. I don’t understand why they are no longer in service. 

I believe these foot patrols serve as a preventive measure and thus save the time, money, manpower and effort required to deal with crime once it has been committed. I hope this suggestion will be considered by the city authorities.
Jack Heimowitz

Editor,
Yesterday, a friend and I visited Querétaro. We went into Office Depot to check out a few things. Suddenly, my friend pointed to my pants and exclaimed, “John, you’re covered with yellow stuff! What is it?” 

Sure enough, my left rear area was covered in yellow stuff, and I could smell mustard. How did that happen? I felt stupid standing there covered in mustard. Perhaps someone had deliberately squirted mustard over me, but why would anyone do that? 

Then, from out of nowhere appeared a man dressed in a double-breasted black jacket, looking like a security guard in plain clothes, well-groomed, very tidy. He came over and told me that I should go with him to the bathroom and get cleaned up. And so, in my confused and befuddled state, he took control and led me off to the bathroom to clean up. 

In the bathroom, my new friend started cleaning the mustard off me. Then, a clean-cut kid came from out of nowhere and lent a hand, smiling and handing me more paper towels. How nice the way people want to help!

Very soon, they removed most of the mustard, and my friend came into the bathroom to check on me. I told him not to worry. With that, double-breasted black jacket and the kid departed before I could thank them.

At the check-out counter, I pulled out my wallet, and yes, it was empty. How could I have fallen for that?

If you suddenly find mustard, ketchup or pigeon poo all over, minimize the damage by not immediately trusting strangers in the vicinity who want to help. Also, “It would never happen to me” is simply not a good mindset. 

The third point worth considering is to try to “hide” you wallet on your person somehow. My wallet, in my somewhat baggy pants pocket, was an open invitation for a pick-pocket. 
Finally, never, ever go into the bathroom with a well-groomed, kindly-looking man wearing a double-breasted black jacket who wants to help.
John McCully

Editor,
There is an error in the “Computer Corner” article of last week [June 23, p. 73], where it says “... if your email ends in “@cybermatsa.
com.mx,” “@unisono.net.mx,” or “@prodigy.
com.mx” you may find yourself unfairly branded” and “other companies can easily tell when your mail ends in ‘mx’ that it originated in Mexico.”
They know that your mail originates in Mexico by the IP address, not the “mx” ending. The Unisono mail server is in the United States, even though the URL ends in “mx,” so they do not suffer from this problem.
You might clear this up with an article on URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and DNS (domain name server) and how they work on the internet.
Jim Frey