What a concept!
Waaaaay back in December last year, way before Christmas even, Jose & I and Jack & Di went to Mexico, mostly to get a haircut. Usually when we travel over there, we shop a bit (and yeah, it's all junk, but it's cheap), eat lunch (cheap, cheap, cheap) or go to the dentist. But, this trip, the goal was a $4 haircut. OK, so, yeah, it costs $2 to park & .25 into the country, and .25 or .30 to get out, but, hey, they like the cut from a "real" barber and a close razor, so off we go. On this particular trek, the barber handed the boys a card with "Feb 8, 2010, 3 pm" written on the back. What's that, ya say? Well, that's their version of an invitation to a party.
So, we've kept the cards all this time and the day finally dawns. Di wakes up ill, with the creepy crud that's been going around the park and she isn't able to make it. Our next door neighbor had also gotten an invitation, so he & his wife were still up for it, even tho they didn't really know what to expect (who did??). We decided to go over a bit early & stock up on Z-packs (anti-biotics) and kinda scope out the party in case of, well, we didn't know in case of what, but just in case.
We checked the pharmacies, and they were open till about 8 pm, so we decided to get the stuff *after* the party so we wouldn't have to lug it all around. Around where, we still didn't know, but we knew we didn't want to lug it around. Next stop was the barbershop, where we thought we were supposed to go. Once there, we found we were to go down to the end of the street & stand on the corner, where a bus would pick us up to go to Gloria's house, where the party was to be held. Oh, btw, Gloria owns the barbershop/beauty salon. Well, it had been a big joke that we wouldn't get on any buses, but there we were, standing in line, along with about 10 other gringoes, waiting for the bus. When the bus came, it was a simple white panel van, with wooden benches in the back in place of seats. No A/C (yup, it was warm, by then), and fully loaded, got warmer. The alternative transport was the open bed of a pickup truck, so we were doing well, we thought. Rumor had it, we were only going about 5 blocks, down to the end of the street, then 'round the corner to Gloria's house.
Yup, about 5 dry & dusty blocks later (this is Mexico, after all, and no, the roads are not paved), we stop at a nice block home, with tall, tall, mirrored windows and several tables & chairs set up outside. They let us out and we walked into the yard where we found big tubs of canned soda on ice. We each took one & found a seat at an empty table. There were about 50 people already seated with drinks, all just "waiting." WE didn't know what was gonna happen, but they seemed to be at ease, so we were too. Wasn't too long after that, some girls started bringing out plates heaped with food to each guest. They were wearing the uniforms of Gloria's shop, and we had seen Gloria at one point, so we weren't worried at all. When our food came, we enjoyed homemade enchiladas, tomales, guacamole, bread, fajitas, and we think goat cheese. Somehow, during the course of the meal, we found out it was Gloria's birthday (she musta been 39, 59, or maybe even 79, it's really hard to tell), and she put on a party like this for all her customers every year!! And we know for a fact she was giving out invitations as late as the end of January! Anyway, after the main course, they served cake! And it was yummy!!! Some kind of raspberry or cherry mousse filling, and it was different texture than American - kinda spongey, not dense like ours, but very good, kinda vanilla-y. And the icing was cool & creamy, like Cool-Whip, with drizzles of chocolate!
After we ate all we wanted, we went into the kitchen, where Gloria and her son (we think) and daughters had prepared all this food and thanked her. She was so proud to show off her house (tho I personally felt like we were invading her privacy) but she welcomed us all. Her living room was humongous by Mexican standards, and there were marble floors everywhere. But, it just floored me, the size of her kitchen. It wasn't much bigger than MINE (and you all know how "big" that is, hehe) and she turned out all that food!! There was a HUGE stockpot of enchiladas, a big salad bowl, in which they were whipping up the batches of guacamole, a roaster pan full of the fajita steaks, and yet another big pot for the tomales. I'm pretty sure they purchased the cakes, but even so, they must have been cooking for HOURS to turn it all out.
Now, think of the expense they went to, to arrange for the van & truck, and drivers, the tables & chairs; they had to close their shop early, but still pay their employees to serve, and then pay for all the food & drink!!!!! Then, she took the time, on HER BIRTHDAY, to serve her customers!! What American company do you know that has shown their appreciation for your patronage in that way??
What a concept. We don't know how many years she's done this, but we gather it's been many. I'm still floored by this display of generosity, and lemme tell you, she sure has earned OUR patronage for as long as we return to the Valley.
Needless to say, we made it back to the USA without issue, and they let us bring back all the Z-packs we'd purchased, and it's a good thing, too, since our friends Donna & Jerry (from Branson) are so sick. Today, on our way out to my scheduled MRI (yeah!!!!), we dropped off a couple doses to hold 'em over till they can cross the border.
Oh, about that MRI...last week, when I went to the pain dr, he decided I shouldn't still be having so much hip pain after all these shots, and apparently, I'm close to maxing out on the shots, too (not like we didn't see *that* coming). Soooooo, they set me up for an MRI the following day, in Mission, about 30 miles from our camp. Well, that meant Dick had to bum a ride from Jack, 'cuz he had an eye dr appt in Harlingen, ALSO about 30 miles from our camp, but in the opposite direction!!!! Di skipped line dancing & went with me, so I didn't have to drive alone, and just in case I couldn't drive back (for whatever reason). Uhhhhhh, ooops, I forgot to check to make sure they had insurance authorization prior to arriving, soooooo, yup, "sorry, ms callander, but we cannot see you today...."
Out in the parking lot, I called Tricare, who kindly informed me that since my dr's office had FAXED the request, it wouldn't even show up for 3-5 days!!!! Of course, they could call it in & get immediate approval, but until that happened, I couldn't be seen. So, another call to the dr's office to relay the news. Thank Goodness for programmed cell phones!! OK, Di & I ran a couple of errands tokill some time, and eventually, I get the call I'm waiting for - the dr's office has gotten me an appointment. Unfortunately, it's NOT for the place in Mission, as that's not on the approved list, and it's NOT for that day, it's for Tuesday (today). OK, so, we've wasted a day & a bunch of Jack's diesel. Sorry Jack, we'll make it up to ya somehow. So, Monday (yesterday), we go to Mexico and party. We turned off our phones (thank you JACK, for finding out that international calling is VERY expensive), and since I never get calls, it never occurred to me to turn mine back on. So, today, when we arrive at the MRI place in McAllen (only about 20 miles from camp), at 11 am, we shouldn't be surprised to hear, "oh, ms callander, I've been leaving you messages. We can't see you today because we don't have authorization."
OIKS. Ok, back out to the truck & plan B. Might be plan C, by now, but who's counting. K, dr's office says yeah, insurance authorized but then didn't so they didn't know, I should call them. Of course, this is Tricare, and while they're VERY inexpensive, and they do provide very good care, there is a price, and that would be they simply are NOT very efficient. OK, back to the phones. While I'm talking to Tricare, Dick gets a call, from Janie at the pain dr. SHE says she had gotten me a 9 am appt at yet another facility. Hmmmm, since it's now 11:15, I'm betting it'll be tough to keep that one!
A call to the new facility, and off we go, directions in hand!! About 15 minutes later, and I'm on the table, strapped down and waiting for the machine to start!!! Two 35 minute scans and $12, and we are DONE! We ran a few more errands, then met Jack & Di for a lovely dinner at Olive Garden. Once home, a quick 2-mile walk around the park, and we are in for the night. And not a minute to soon - it's cooooooooooooooooooold out there!!
Y'all big good, and stay warm! God Bless.
So, we've kept the cards all this time and the day finally dawns. Di wakes up ill, with the creepy crud that's been going around the park and she isn't able to make it. Our next door neighbor had also gotten an invitation, so he & his wife were still up for it, even tho they didn't really know what to expect (who did??). We decided to go over a bit early & stock up on Z-packs (anti-biotics) and kinda scope out the party in case of, well, we didn't know in case of what, but just in case.
We checked the pharmacies, and they were open till about 8 pm, so we decided to get the stuff *after* the party so we wouldn't have to lug it all around. Around where, we still didn't know, but we knew we didn't want to lug it around. Next stop was the barbershop, where we thought we were supposed to go. Once there, we found we were to go down to the end of the street & stand on the corner, where a bus would pick us up to go to Gloria's house, where the party was to be held. Oh, btw, Gloria owns the barbershop/beauty salon. Well, it had been a big joke that we wouldn't get on any buses, but there we were, standing in line, along with about 10 other gringoes, waiting for the bus. When the bus came, it was a simple white panel van, with wooden benches in the back in place of seats. No A/C (yup, it was warm, by then), and fully loaded, got warmer. The alternative transport was the open bed of a pickup truck, so we were doing well, we thought. Rumor had it, we were only going about 5 blocks, down to the end of the street, then 'round the corner to Gloria's house.
Yup, about 5 dry & dusty blocks later (this is Mexico, after all, and no, the roads are not paved), we stop at a nice block home, with tall, tall, mirrored windows and several tables & chairs set up outside. They let us out and we walked into the yard where we found big tubs of canned soda on ice. We each took one & found a seat at an empty table. There were about 50 people already seated with drinks, all just "waiting." WE didn't know what was gonna happen, but they seemed to be at ease, so we were too. Wasn't too long after that, some girls started bringing out plates heaped with food to each guest. They were wearing the uniforms of Gloria's shop, and we had seen Gloria at one point, so we weren't worried at all. When our food came, we enjoyed homemade enchiladas, tomales, guacamole, bread, fajitas, and we think goat cheese. Somehow, during the course of the meal, we found out it was Gloria's birthday (she musta been 39, 59, or maybe even 79, it's really hard to tell), and she put on a party like this for all her customers every year!! And we know for a fact she was giving out invitations as late as the end of January! Anyway, after the main course, they served cake! And it was yummy!!! Some kind of raspberry or cherry mousse filling, and it was different texture than American - kinda spongey, not dense like ours, but very good, kinda vanilla-y. And the icing was cool & creamy, like Cool-Whip, with drizzles of chocolate!
After we ate all we wanted, we went into the kitchen, where Gloria and her son (we think) and daughters had prepared all this food and thanked her. She was so proud to show off her house (tho I personally felt like we were invading her privacy) but she welcomed us all. Her living room was humongous by Mexican standards, and there were marble floors everywhere. But, it just floored me, the size of her kitchen. It wasn't much bigger than MINE (and you all know how "big" that is, hehe) and she turned out all that food!! There was a HUGE stockpot of enchiladas, a big salad bowl, in which they were whipping up the batches of guacamole, a roaster pan full of the fajita steaks, and yet another big pot for the tomales. I'm pretty sure they purchased the cakes, but even so, they must have been cooking for HOURS to turn it all out.
Now, think of the expense they went to, to arrange for the van & truck, and drivers, the tables & chairs; they had to close their shop early, but still pay their employees to serve, and then pay for all the food & drink!!!!! Then, she took the time, on HER BIRTHDAY, to serve her customers!! What American company do you know that has shown their appreciation for your patronage in that way??
What a concept. We don't know how many years she's done this, but we gather it's been many. I'm still floored by this display of generosity, and lemme tell you, she sure has earned OUR patronage for as long as we return to the Valley.
Needless to say, we made it back to the USA without issue, and they let us bring back all the Z-packs we'd purchased, and it's a good thing, too, since our friends Donna & Jerry (from Branson) are so sick. Today, on our way out to my scheduled MRI (yeah!!!!), we dropped off a couple doses to hold 'em over till they can cross the border.
Oh, about that MRI...last week, when I went to the pain dr, he decided I shouldn't still be having so much hip pain after all these shots, and apparently, I'm close to maxing out on the shots, too (not like we didn't see *that* coming). Soooooo, they set me up for an MRI the following day, in Mission, about 30 miles from our camp. Well, that meant Dick had to bum a ride from Jack, 'cuz he had an eye dr appt in Harlingen, ALSO about 30 miles from our camp, but in the opposite direction!!!! Di skipped line dancing & went with me, so I didn't have to drive alone, and just in case I couldn't drive back (for whatever reason). Uhhhhhh, ooops, I forgot to check to make sure they had insurance authorization prior to arriving, soooooo, yup, "sorry, ms callander, but we cannot see you today...."
Out in the parking lot, I called Tricare, who kindly informed me that since my dr's office had FAXED the request, it wouldn't even show up for 3-5 days!!!! Of course, they could call it in & get immediate approval, but until that happened, I couldn't be seen. So, another call to the dr's office to relay the news. Thank Goodness for programmed cell phones!! OK, Di & I ran a couple of errands tokill some time, and eventually, I get the call I'm waiting for - the dr's office has gotten me an appointment. Unfortunately, it's NOT for the place in Mission, as that's not on the approved list, and it's NOT for that day, it's for Tuesday (today). OK, so, we've wasted a day & a bunch of Jack's diesel. Sorry Jack, we'll make it up to ya somehow. So, Monday (yesterday), we go to Mexico and party. We turned off our phones (thank you JACK, for finding out that international calling is VERY expensive), and since I never get calls, it never occurred to me to turn mine back on. So, today, when we arrive at the MRI place in McAllen (only about 20 miles from camp), at 11 am, we shouldn't be surprised to hear, "oh, ms callander, I've been leaving you messages. We can't see you today because we don't have authorization."
OIKS. Ok, back out to the truck & plan B. Might be plan C, by now, but who's counting. K, dr's office says yeah, insurance authorized but then didn't so they didn't know, I should call them. Of course, this is Tricare, and while they're VERY inexpensive, and they do provide very good care, there is a price, and that would be they simply are NOT very efficient. OK, back to the phones. While I'm talking to Tricare, Dick gets a call, from Janie at the pain dr. SHE says she had gotten me a 9 am appt at yet another facility. Hmmmm, since it's now 11:15, I'm betting it'll be tough to keep that one!
A call to the new facility, and off we go, directions in hand!! About 15 minutes later, and I'm on the table, strapped down and waiting for the machine to start!!! Two 35 minute scans and $12, and we are DONE! We ran a few more errands, then met Jack & Di for a lovely dinner at Olive Garden. Once home, a quick 2-mile walk around the park, and we are in for the night. And not a minute to soon - it's cooooooooooooooooooold out there!!
Y'all big good, and stay warm! God Bless.
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