My Sister's Trip to Mexico

 

So my sister, Nena, gets married, goes to Mexico and stumbles into Daddy (mine) living in Oxkutzcab, the little town he was born in in Mexico.  He'll be 80 in December.  Great story!

 

Nena and Bob go to Merida, Yucatan, one of their stops on their trip to Mexico.  Merida is where many of my relatives on my Dad's side live.  They see a little tour bus going to Oxkutzcab.  Oxkutzcab is the town my Dad is from.  Nena says, "What the heck, let's go."  She strikes up a conversation with the drivers and tells them her dad is from Oxkutzcab.  The driver says, "What's his name, maybe I know him."  Nena says, "No, I'm pretty sure he died some years ago."  "Well, what's his name anyway?" says the driver.  "Jose Ayala." says Nena. 

 

"Don Jose?  He's alive.  Little old guy who used to live in San Francisco, right?"  Nena says, "Well, yes he did used to live in San Francsico.  But it couldn't be him!" 

 

The house next door. 

Anyway, she and Bob head off to Oxkutzcab.  They get off the tour bus and just start asking people if they know Jose Ayala.  "Yeah, I know the old guy.  You might find him at the town square at noon."  They ask people if they know where he lives.  A guy, who doesn't appear to trust them, tells them he MIGHT know where he lives.  Another guy tells them to try an address. 

It's now been a couple of hours and they start to give up thinking they'll never find him.  They go to the address but it's a 30ish woman with about 5 young kids...not my Dad's house!  Just as they were about to leave, a policeman, who they had spoken to earlier drives up to the house next door, knocks on the door and tells the little old guy he's got some visitors.  

My Dad's house.

Nena is still skeptical but she walks in and there's Dad. 

 

Hey, that's were Nic got his eye color from!  I had forgotten about my dad's kaleidoscope eyes.  He remembers Nena but thought it was odd that she was the same age as my mother (40).  He thinks my mother is still alive, too.  He said he saw her just the other day.  Nena said at one point, after pondering for a while he says, "Boobie was the last one, right?"  He seems to have forgotten how to speak English.  He would only speak Spanish to Nena. 

 

Some more shots.

You can see his left hand is gnarled from the stroke he had in '90.  He shrunk.  Used to be about 5' 8". 

 

Nena says he has a table, a chair, a hammock, a fridge and a radio.  A nurse comes in only a daily basis to check on him. 

 

He poses here with his new son-in-law, Bob.  He even smiles.

 

 

Nena and Daddy.  Well, he seems happy in his surroundings, in the town he loves.

 

 

So now I'm adlibbing my sister's vacation cause I have no idea what these photos are -- but they intrigued me.  I'll have to ask her and update this page with what they actually are!

I'm guessing this is the town square in Oxkutzcab.

 

Some Mayan ruin?

 

Are we in Florida or Mexico?

         

Now, there's a place I'd like to vacation in.  Too bad it's in Mexico.

 

Won't catch me in Mexico OR on this rickety double decker!

 

??

   
Ummm...just another day after the afternoon thunder showers?
     

This is pretty!  No banditos.  Maybe I could go here.