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It’s hard to believe that this is Bruce and Mary’s third anniversary celebration in the Yucatan. Please join them as they celebrate their 36 years of wedded bliss, er, ahh, weddedness?

I’m glad to be gainfully employed now, here in Mérida, and doing by some standards better than we ever have, because that means that I probably will not give in to my cheap inner self and diminish in some fashion, our 36th wedding anniversary.

Our anniversary was actually Thursday but, as that was a workday and a school night we have decided to celebrate today, Saturday. We begin our celebration by sleeping in. Then, having accomplished that we get our act together and walk up to California gym, our gym and we each have a very righteous work-out. We’re a little disappointed that we do not see any of our poster boy pals, but we are a little earlier than usual.

Back home we clean up and immediately head to our neighborhood bar, El Luceros, to watch USA vs Ghana in the World Cup, we’re a

little late as our boys are already down 1-0 on an early Ghana goal. The place is packed but luckily our usual table with a clear view of one of many big screen TVs is available. We spot our pals Neil, Pete, and Linda at a nearby table in the big room and we’re a little surprised as we thought they were going to watch the match at Dave the Brit’s deli (not an option for us, no beer) but we find, as we join them, that for some reason he couldn’t tune it in on his cable. The first half ends with Ghana up 1-0 and Pete and Neil are upset with the Americans’ lackadaisical play. I am surprised at their disgust as they’re Brits, Neil from England and Pete from Wales, but Pete does have dual citizenship and his wife Linda is American. Evidently the American coach does as Neil suggests and puts a “torch up their a**es” as they swarm Ghana in the opening minutes of the second half and tie the score with a penalty kick. The regulation ends in a 1-1 tie so they go to a 30 minute overtime and at about the 20 minute mark a Ghanaian player scores on a helluva athletic breakaway. I was about to tell Neil that I guessed the bar was so packed with football fans because the locals were here to support USA, their neighbors to the north, just as every Gringo I know has been supporting Mexico in their World Cup bid, but wrong. The whole bar erupts with cheering and noisemakers when Ghana scores and again at the end of the game when they win. I take this personally as I survey the scene. Neil, generous soul that he is, speculates that a Ghana win perhaps advances Mexico’s chances. I doubt it. We say our goodbyes and head home where we gussy ourselves up in our wedding wear (Helen’s wedding that is), Mary in her custom-made dress, and I with my custom-made guayabera and linen pants. This marks maybe the third time in 2+ yrs down here that we have dressed up.

We walk the 4 blocks to the new Boutique Hotel, Rosas y Xocolate, Roses and Chocolate for our anniversary night out. The sky is overcast but with no rain and it has cooled down mercifully for us in our fancy clothes. We enter through the main door to the dining room and passing through we climb the spiral staircase to the rooftop bar overlooking beautiful, tree lined Paseo Montejo. We pick a table at the concrete railing and take in the view as the bar keeper quickly scurries over to our table to take our orders, a Bohemia Obscura, my most favorite beer in the world and for some reason Mary orders Tecate light, ewww! I light up my Cohiba Esplendido to share with Mary and life is good. We take to the sheltered horseshoe shaped bar when a slight mist develops and we reorder our beers. Mary has come to her senses and orders a Bohemia as well. Mary espies a huge green parrot high up in a tree next door and snaps a pic of it. We are having a perfect moment and we stretch it out by slowly sipping our beers on ice and puffing away on the Cohiba when it is not resting in the cigar cut-out of the black Onyx cenicero, ashtray. Everything about this place is first

rate.

Finally our stomachs tell us it is time for dinner. We climb down the spiral staircase into the garden but we decide to take our dinner in the dining room proper as it is heating up again and we wouldn’t mind some air conditioning. We are seated at a table for two at a window facing Paseo and presented menus and asked about drinks. Mary has her usual beer but I ask for el vino rojo de la casa, the house red wine. Mary gets her beer and I am presented with two choices of red wine. I taste test them both and decide on the Chilean Merlot. I am no wino but it tastes mighty fine to me. Mary orders an appetizer para compartir, to share, a salad. But first we are served little tiny slices of bread, one with raisins and the other a sesame seed variety. Both are scrumptious and look funny sitting on our huge platters where we butter them. We marvel at the simple but elegant silverware. I hold up the spoon and see my reflection in it .Mary says, “But first there is no spoon.”

Carol, the owner, born in Mexico City, raised in NY and formerly out of Florida, his base of international travel for 35 years, comes over to say hi and we have fun telling him that our girlfriend, Connie, thinks he is hot. He says “Really, you know I am 64.” Well you’d never know it. I tell him that I would put him at my age, 57, or younger. He tells a charming story of his vodka tasting party attended by a number of 20 somethings and then he is off, wishing us, “Buen provecho!”

Our salad comes and it may be the best salad I have ever had. It is arugula placed artfully on a white plate splashed with a stripe of chocolate! Sandwiched in the mound of arugula are thin slices of firm, succulent pear and bits of pistachios. Hmmm!

We are served more breads and then the entrees come, a Chicken dish for Mary and Pescado del Dia, fish of the day, for me. The presentation is deceiving in that at first you think you’re looking at a classic gourmet presentation with about 200 calories of actual food until you realize that the bowl shaped platter is huge, seemingly dwarfing the entree but the tower of food is very generous. My fish steak sits atop a tall bed of nopal, seasoned cactus, all on top of a meaty tortilla base. It is very good, but you want to be a nopal fan for this dish, which I am, as the nopal taste is very strong. Mary’s chicken dish consists of chicken breast sitting atop a lentil salad with some arugula and lettuce like mache and it is fantastic (she shares!) There is a bit of guyaba puree on the side which complements the flavors incredibly well.

There are no leftovers!

We are patting our bellies as we notice a couple coming in the front door. It is Juanita and Jan (Yon)! Juanita is the editor at Yucatan Today who published our book and she is a good friend we have not seen for quite awhile. Juanita is there with her husband, meeting another couple, to write her restaurant of the month review and this month she is featuring Rosas y Xocolate. We get caught up and then see them off to the table where their friends await.

Mary is served coffee and I still have my vino to finish when a plate comes bearing a triangle of dense, moist chocolate cake with a dallop of icecream on top with a lit candle. On the plate is scribed, in a drizzle of chocolate, “Felicidades!” Courtesy of Carol. I don’t have to tell you it is to die for, especially for a chocoholic (Mary hides it in the house) like myself.

We ask for la Cuenta, the check, and after a 20% tip, the whole evening comes to 869P, about $69.50US, not bad, eh?

We say goodbye to Juanita and Jan and in the process meet their friends Ralf who has a T-Shirt shop in La Gran Plaza, and his wife Maru who has a cookie business, and then we’re out the door walking Paseo on a Saturday night wondering how an evening could be any more perfect. To you Mary: I am truly a lucky man.

Thanks for visiting gentle reader. Bruce and Mary have found that the longer they live in Mérida the more enchanted with the city they become. Mérida is truly muy bonita and muy tranquilo. Hasta pronto!

Bruce and Mary have just completed their annual pilgrimage to Minnesota with the highlight of the trip their daughter Helen’s marriage to Caleb Thilges. Please allow Bruce to take you on that whirlwind tour.

We flew out of Merida directly because I screwed up and didn’t book tix until the usually much cheaper Cancun flights had risen to the Merida prices, but both Mary and I were kind of glad because we hate that 4 hr bus ride to Cancun and all the messing around that goes along with that trek. So the flight with the automatic layover in Houston was nice and uneventful starting with a 5:00am taxi ride and ending with our youngest, Joey (the one who eloped with the lovely Meryah in November) and his new wife picking us up at Lindbergh Int’l and ferrying us all the way to Mary’s mother Harriet’s house in Princeton and then Joey and Meryah made us drink beers on Harriet’s deck until 2 in the morning, the buggers!

Luckily that was a Saturday night and we all could sleep in the next morning.

That next week we settled into Harriet’s place and set up our work stations for our online moderation jobs. Our friends posit that we are nuts to maintain even an abbreviated work schedule when we are on holiday, and maybe they’re right, but we have such plum shifts that we don’t want anyone else to get used to working them. We’ll see next time.

The first event is the three for one shower the first Friday evening we are back. Mary’s sis Sue is the party

planner for this rather unique event. As I mentioned earlier Joey eloped in November, Helen’s hippie wedding date is June 4th and our oldest Sammy is having a high society Boston wedding August 14th. Now did you get that? All three kids are getting married in about 9 months. I think we are setting some sort of record. Well anyhow, as the week progresses and Friday is here I find myself in the role of a happy mule, setting up chairs, tables, and other simple duties that even I can understand and I gotta say Sue is one helluva shower planner. The couples’ close relatives are seated on the deck and the shower begins with introductions around, and advice for the couples. Mine is simply to instruct couples that future kids should listen to their dad, but the one I liked best was Mary’s brother Bob’s, “Husbands, you need to realize you have a choice, you can be right or you can be happy.”

Then the games begin and Bob and I take shelter in the living room and proceed to commiserate about what the hell are we doing at a shower, neither of us has ever been to one before and has the world changed that much? Damn.

The gift giving begins and then people start making their goodbyes and heading out. Helen, Sue, Harriet, Mary and I end the night around the living room table recounting the event, with the women, directed by Sue, addressing thank you envelopes for every gift for every couple. I was happy that my only duty was to drink a martini.

We’re up early the next morning as this day is Mary’s 41st annual May 17th celebration (we’re not really that old, Mary started this at a very young age with the motivation shrouded in mist), or as it is more commonly known now, Mary Dahle Day (her maiden name, as this event precedes me). The event has changed this year as Helen, who has taken over as main organizer, has instructed people that this party is potluck, so instead of the 20-30 dishes they usually prepare they have it trimmed down to maybe 10 between them. So we’re out the door by 11 something and at Kevin and Rosie’s place in Sauk Rapids at noon sharp as planned. Since we have been MN homeless since our escape to MX two plus years ago, Kevin and Rosie have been so generous as to allow us the use of their home, a perfect party house with a huge backyard. Joey and his gang are already here, and partying. Joey had heard the stories about the original May 17ths which commenced at 10am sharp at River Side park in Princeton, our home town, with the cracking open of a case or two of champagne, and was thusly inspired. It is a beautiful sun-splashed day, in fact the weather our whole time back has been excellent, this is not your father’s MN weather. Helen officially begins the celebration by doing the traditional toast to comrades gone and the party begins in earnest. The food is excellent as everyone made good on their potluck responsibilities. After a bit our eldest, Sammy begins polling for a basketball game. My old guy dream team and reigning champs could not make it from Alexandria and it seems I am the only old guy willing to lace up this year so we just form two 4 man teams and we play at the neighbors’ hoop as we did not want to press our luck and haul our former neighbor’s (Pete and Judy) 800# portable hoop (base filled with sand) this year. In

prior years we have: nearly killed Judy’s dad when he helped us load it (boy, what a strong old guy!), scratched the hell out of Kevin’s nearly new PU, and last year we nearly took out the side of Pete and Judy’s boat with the damn thing. My team wins, with several breaks (Sammy and I wonder what is with these young guys, huffing and puffing?) but there is no joy in it as the old guy/young guy tradition has been broken.

Back to the party: Although the kids’ generation dominates, many of our old friends do make it, and we party until late, or I do, with the kids, as our generation doesn’t do “late” very often. Kevin, our host, is back from his wedding DJ gig at about midnight and he is happy to see the cops have not arrived yet. Someone, I’m not sure who, has done a good job keeping the patio sound system from broadcasting to the entire neighborhood.

Joey’s friends (and mine) Andy and Cory have been regaling me with stories of misdeeds from their youth, reminding me of myself doing the same thing with my folks. You know, the parties while your parents were out of town, thing. And they remind me of what a fearsome character their group thought I was. I remember that Sammy’s group loved to hang with us in the kitchen and talk politics and ethics. Helen’s group mingled with Sammy’s and had a bit of an artistic contingent but Joey’s buds, they would sneak into the house via the walkout and for some reason let themselves out through the front door. I’d be in the living room watching the Twins or T-Wolves as these kids would file out saying, “Goodnight Mr. Kelley”, and I would wonder who the hell these kids are, as they all looked the same to me, and I would wonder where the hell did they come from. Well anyhow Cory and Andy are telling me about some stunt that involved sneaking around our old master bedroom. Hmm, I thought, I wonder if I can still inspire that old fear? I say, “So you guys were in my bedroom?!!” Cory starts backpedal-ling, “Wwwwell, nooo, actually, only Joey, actually went in your bedroom!” I kept it up for a bit, winking to my nephew Simon, sitting next to me. Joey told me later that Cory had quickly found him and warned him to “Stay away from your dad, he’s really mad!” What fun!

The next day is cloudy and drizzly and we’re hoping the rain does not affect our Twins game. Joey, good son that he is, had gotten 11 tix for the sold out Twins V Rangers game this evening in the new outdoor Target field which has been raved about by everyone. After cleaning up and having a cocktail and cigar with my close friend and host Kevin we head to Princeton where we while away the afternoon with Harriet. Joey is with us and Sammy is with his contingent in St. Cloud and Joey is texting back and forth on his new Droid, his cell drug of choice. Finally it is decided that we will drive to Elk River and they will drive to Big Lake, both of us picking up the northern spur of the brand new light rail, to Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. Our trip goes without incident and we are very impressed with the new light rail but around Anoka Joey gets a call from Sammy, they missed the light rail and are racing to downtown via Pete’s car and beyond that, he is too frustrated to talk any further. At least they make it in time to catch opening pitch and we watch a great game that has the Twins coming out on top 6-3 but the game is marred by a game ending catch/collision between Span and Hudson with Span holding onto the ball to preserve the win. It is pretty cool that virtually nobody leaves the park until both players are on their feet and walking off the field. Target Field is very impressive and I invite you to check it out on other blogs. The special Twins light rail run is jam packed with standing room only when we board for our trip back. I find it curious that there are no handrails. Every rickety bus in Mexico has handrails. Eventually enough people debark that we able to sit and, all in all the day has been an excellent experience.

The following Wednesday has us heading up to the cabin to host Kevin and Rosie for dinner and to get a jump on prep for Helen and Caleb’s wedding there. On the way we stop at the “Meat Store” just outside Onamia and pick up some Rib Eyes. I am dazzled by the prices: $7/lb for the two remaining bone-in steaks and $12 for two more bone-less steaks. That is the one thing I don’t like about coming back to the States, sticker shock.

Finally at the cabin we start prepping for the meal and in short order K&R show up in brother Keith’s Tundra PU with our patio set which Pete and Judy have been very kindly storing, but we need it now, and also Kevin’s back-up Bose sound system which he has generously offered for the wedding, here at the cabin. K&R are properly impressed at the grand renovation of this old log cabin with a completely brand new lower level and cool new landscaping with a new ground level patio lakeside. Kevin, master BBQer that he is, prepares our steaks perfectly – Kudos to Kevin! After cocktails and watching the sun set over Captive Lake, a small, semi-private lake, K&R head to the nearby Indian Casino/hotel to ply his formidable skills at the hold-em table.

Thursday Mary spring cleans the cabin, I take care of outside duties, weedwacking and such and then Mary gives me other prep duties that I am capable of – the happy mule once again.

Roger and MaryLou, groom Caleb’s folks show up in their camper and trailer and after helping Roger set up we head to the patio fronting the lake and sitting at our patio set’s new home we start happy hour. I barely knew Roger before this day, but by the end of the day we are great pals. The kids all join us by early evening and Joe, Caleb’s best man and SO Kelly are here as well.

Friday, June 4th, wedding day, is abuzz with prep activities while Sammy motors the 130 miles to the airport to pick up his fiance. While Sammy has been done with work (math teacher at York Co. Community College) for a couple weeks, Annah, an el-ed teacher, is still working and Sammy says she does a pretty good job of not hating him as he sleeps in every morning. Joey’s better half Meryah runs the command post of this whirlwind of activity with total aplomb as we grunts do as ordered. I never dreamed that such a small wedding could involve so many details!

Finally all guests have arrived, immediate family, uncles, aunts, and grandmas and I do a head count for setting up chairs. Helen had projected 28 guests and there are 27. The ceremony begins with Helen, radiant in her dress, a white chiffon with blue sash, custom crafted in Mexico walking down from the second level deck and joining Caleb in his mod tan suit with matching custom made blue tie and a pair of extraordinary boots, at the lakeside edge of the patio. They are framed by Captive Lake and the summer blue sky and the scene is softly lit with the heavy sun behind them, low on the horizon. The Rev, Joey is officiating, now that he is official. He is still living down the fact that one of his co-workers had to point out that he’d misspelled Joseph on his online certificate which he was proudly displaying in his cubicle.

Joey reads the text that Helen had prepared and then the couple state their touching and heartfelt vows and they are one. And the feast begins. Everyone has brought a tasty dish and my trim brother Mark amazes me again. He is 9 months and 1 day younger than me and he can still eat like a teenager downing two heaping full large platters of food. If I did that you’d

have to call 911.

The evening winds down, the freshly minted wedded couple heads to the nearby hotel, and we see the individual parties off down the gravel road. And it is down to the hard core, Roger, Joey, me and Mary. Finally I am nodding off and hit the sack to find out that Joey and Roger told stories until 3am.

The next day, Saturday, is reception day but first we have to clean up and shut down the cabin. Thankfully, late last night Meryah had directed her minions in assisting her in food teardown but we still have a big job to do today. Finally everything is packed, cabin cleaned, and garbage stuffed into the Park Av. It’s a cloudy drizzly day but we have had exceptional luck, with every outdoor fest in our itinerary blessed by the MN weather gods.

Mary and I, Sammy and Annah stop off at Harriet’s in Princeton to grab an overnight bag and then head to our hotel in the cities. Mary and I clean up and she puts on the same gray custom made mother of the bride dress and I don, again, my tan linen pants and white custom made white Guayabera shirt. I think Alexei, the tailor, owes us a kickback by now. Sam hustles us over to the the reception hall, the rustic event center of a Twin Cities golf course as our early presence has been requested. When we get there though, we wonder why, as Helen has everything under control. This is fine by me as I share a contraband beer with Kevin who, with Rosie is supplying the music tonight.

Guests start to arrive and Kevin starts his sound machine. Then Kevin introduces the wedded couple and they do their dance to Johnny Cash and Fiona Apple’s version of Bridge Over Troubled Water. Then the moment I had been fearing arrives, the father/bride dance. When Helen had visited last November we had decided on Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called To Say I Love You. Helen puts me at my ease and we discuss a spin as we dance and we actually do one. Then with my confidence boosted we do a spin out and spin back. I am happy to hear that I did not make a fool of myself.

The dancers are filling the dance floor as the night heats up and I find myself truly dancing like a fool now, but Deb, my frequent partner, Mary’s best friend

doesn’t seem to mind too much. At one point I see Bill on the floor and his SO Mary sitting and I spin her onto the floor, get her dancing and hand her off to Bill. I am on fire! But not to be outdone, Sammy’s groomsman-to-be Anton puts on his dancing Jones and is wowing the crowd. Just to show there are no hard feelings, Anton and I do a cheek to cheek. Now we’re cool.

We’ll I am sweating like a pig, I need to cool off on the really neat patio out the front door. I grab my Cohiba genuine Cuban cigars for all the important, cool people. Best man Joe, nephew Ben, and others light up. These are Esplendidos and the deal is, I explain to my happy recipients, is that you have to smoke the whole thing as these cigars are about a foot long (slight hyperbole). Everyone is happy to oblige and I am of a mood to police this action and do. At this point Jen, Helen’s lovely bridesmaid asks what is our secret, why have Mary and I been together so long. After pooh, poohing her she remains insistent and I tell her and others what I told Mary on the way to the courthouse and this is how we have lived our lives together, “Well, babe, it’s just you and me now, against the world.” I don’t think she is very impressed with our “secret” but it is what it is.

The night has flown by and we are called into the ballroom for one last dance which involves some sort of

a scrum with Helen’s group. And then time to leave. There is a shuttle to the hotel but I want to help Kevin pack all his gear and Mary Fran is good enough to hang with me. Kevin is amazingly organized and it takes just a few minutes to get it done and then Kevin tails us to the hotel. Mary Fran and I sit in the back seat of their new Prius with good looking son Karl at the wheel with pretty sister Anja in her sleek red dress, at his side. I stay quiet as they argue over directions and Mary’s instincts trump Karl’s recall and we are in Deb and Bonnie’s party room shortly. There, we tell stories until 4am.

I am awake at 8 the next morning. That’s the problem with getting old. No matter what time you go to bed, you always wake at about the same time. Well I need to ferry my sis Cheryl to the airport for her gig in Santa Fe, anyway. She is presenting at the science conference there. So first we see Helen and Caleb off to their uptown apmnt on their way to their honeymoon cabin in remote UP, MI and then I find ma – Margaret, and Cheryl and we head out. Mary is meeting up with Bonnie and Deb for breakfast, I get a vending machine roll. Better luck next time.

Mary rendezvous’s with me and ma at Harriet’s and then we motor over to Foley where we will spend the last few MN days with Margaret decompressing and putting in a few work shifts. It is a very relaxing time and I am happy to do a few chores for ma.

Wednesday, is getaway day and nephew Simon with his one yr old son Jordan are happy to give us a ride to the airport which is a very good deal for us, as it is a good 80 mile trek and public transport is a little difficult out here in the MN sticks.

So, of Helen and Caleb’s wedding and all the other events, this is my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Thanks for visiting, gentle reader. Bruce covered a lot of ground and he would like to say to anyone still reading, give this reader a medal! But now that Bruce and Mary are back to their regular Merida routine, posts will be regular again, sort of, and much shorter! Hasta pronto.