good.
It seems
I
have an affinity with older women - much older - as I have had experiences in Hong Kong, London and Mexico City with them,
always good.
One day in Mexico City I decided to take the subway from the Zona Rosa District to the main square where all the government offices and the Presidential Palace are located. When I got off and wandered into the square there must have been 100,000 people there! Hundreds or more of police and military were there with riot gear - batons, shields and tear gas! I found myself in the middle of a riot as the workers were staging a sit down because the pesos kept being devalued but the politicians, police and military kept their pay raises intact.
I tried to get away and rushed to the subway station which must have had a thousand people in it. A train came by going my direction and we all rushed on, afraid the riot squad was after us.
The train shot down the tunnel and I was shoved to the rear of the car.
An old Mexican woman in front of me knew I was in trouble and asked me where I was getting off. Zona Rosa Station! She had a cane and was about five foot tall but when we got to the station she smacked her cane around and cleared a path for me.
We rushed out of the subway car and onto an almost empty platform. She gave me a big smile and I said, "Gracias" many times. She got back on the car and away she went. I went back to the hotel looking disheveled and the hotel clerk asked me where I was, after I told him he went pale and said I was lucky to get back in one piece! He said many people are beaten up and thrown in jail even if they hadn't done anything wrong, that's being in the wrong place at the wrong time! At least I have enough sense to flee, stand still or keep my mouth shut depending on the situation. Saying "Yes Sir" or what ever a lot of times helps also even if you think otherwise!
One morning I was having breakfast and there was a women at the next table, nice looking and alone. We struck up a conversation and she said she was from London taking a trip around the world. Had been to Egypt among other places and had been diving in the Bahamas and now Mexico City. As we were chatting a couple at the next table started talking to us. Both of us enjoyed talking so we got them to tell us about themselves. They were farmers from southern Illinois and the husband thought that since it was their 20th wedding anniversary he was going to take his wife on a trip as they had never really done any traveling out of the state. We thought, how nice of him.
Then he said that they had just gotten into Mexico City the day before and spent the afternoon and evening in their room, a little afraid to go out. They ended up watching I Love Lucy but were unhappy because for some strange reason, everyone spoke Spanish ! I wonder why?
The woman from London and I decided these two needed help so we decided we were going to see the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon outside of Mexico City. We hired a cab and told them to get with it. At first they felt like they were intruding but off we went. We had a great day climbing over the pyramids and gossiping about where to go next. You have to go to see the Palace of Ferdinand & Isabella, the only Emperor and Empress in the Western Hemesphere and the fantastic museum
containing Indian artifacts, we told them. The next day we were in the park looking at the palace and who was there but the farm couple. They were walking all over enjoying themselves all because we had spent a little time getting them
acclimated to traveling.