Cafe Luna Rants & Raves
November 2009

Hi All You Luna/tics!!

Welllllll.......

I am sitting here in my home office with the last of the Anglo-tan peeling off my cheeks (face cheeks my dears. face cheeks....) the result of our just getting off the ship from our seven day cruise to Mexico. The weather was beautiful, warm/hot, and clear. Incredible sun-sets and smooth sailing.

And then there were the cocktails.....
the many, many, many cocktails......

It is so great to be able to be served double-shot margarita's while sitting in a chair, not having to spend any money and just have another and another. And to have your friends keeping up with you....or surpassing you....doesn't matter.

Served.
Whoa...just like home....

We went to Puerto Vallarta first, one of our most favorite cities in Mexico. Why? The diversity of the city. The architecture, the people. The color of the city. The ocean. The influence of the ocean on the city. And the food. It is one of the things we Californians have available to us, and something we all seem to rely on often: Mexican foods. The comfort of taco's, "chips and salsa", guacamole...Mexican beers on a hot day, especially if they are served in the frosty ice cold glasses with the lime wedge. Mexico.

Gary and I seem to go there as often as we can: far enough away to relieve any stress in life at the moment, and close enough to make it affordable regularly (should have had kids.....then I would have known where all my money would be spent...plus all my future money.....and my will would be totally different.....Gary and I have a belief: if we have any money left when it's all over, we didn't have a good enough time.....and we expect to have a great time in life...).

Did I mention the music of Mexico? Have you ever listened to the beautiful Mariachi music that is so full of life, guitars, and yes - sometimes accordion playing - that is so infectious with its rhythms and its ability to sweep you away in the moment.....and not to mention it can be so very, very romantic. There is something so sensual just listening to the beautiful Mexican ballads played. (For those of you unfamiliar with these ballads, try listening to good old Linda Ronstadt's incredible CD's of Mexican ballads from 1983, "Canciones di Me Padre" along with her other CD "Mas Canciones" from 1990. Pure infectious melody and angst and romance.....listen to these on a moonlit night with someone you love....and take a shower...just in case....).

Keeping in the spirit of all things Mexico on our cruise, we brought along our domino set, and played "Mexican Train" dominos. Endlessly. Marathons of them....Karen, Mike and Sally kept us lubricated (bless you...) - I hope they weren't trying to get us drunk enough for us to lose our edge....oh well, it didn't matter....we all won equally....except maybe Mike (The Cheater) making funny noises and imitations that totally distracted us (oh my gawd: I just realized: he kept us laughing so hard, we forgot whose turn it was, and he always said it was his....that guy! there is no end to his devious behavior plying us with liquor and such...who am I kidding? we were easy marks.....).

One thing we did notice: all of these people of -- let us say "a certain age" group (think Blue Hair and very heavy perfume and cigar smoking men) kept coming up to our game table and asking us what we were doing and how smart we were to bring our domino set with us and listening to us laugh and giggle and get really loud while playing. (NOTE FOR NEXT TIME: bring several extra sets and sell them at a huge mark-up!!! Pay for our cruise in no time...). All of us were so surprised by this, mainly because all of us had our natural hair color (whoa: thunder and lightening? in the middle of the day??? ok, ok. I am sorry...) and kept thinking what a sophisticated and mind-broadening game to play on board....(who am I kidding? it travels well...and it is easy.....unless you refer to the rules....and you know we just made them up as we went along....angel/devil on our shoulders.....we use what advantage we could.....forgive me Karen/Mike/Sally/Gary....I really did know what I was doing......oh gawd....I might be going to hell.....).

But FUN? Yep. It is a fun game and we had a blast. And the Margarita's, the Pina Colada's and beers weren't to shabby either. And then there was the "Cookie Lady" (who was a dead ringer for Scarlett Johansen) from Romania who kept bringing fresh-baked-hot-out-of-the-oven cookies around on a rolling cart.....did I mention how much like home it was????

There is such joy in laughing. The utter release of all your anxieties, the sheer silliness that over-comes you when you can't stand it any longer and just give in to your body letting you laugh out loud, shake with laughter, blow wine/milk/margarita's out-of-your-nose laughter. It may be the healthiest thing I do for myself. I love to laugh. Out loud. And love to hear that laughter in my friends. (Try not to laugh when you hear someone laughing well. It just takes over...).

And we laughed.
Allot.

And now I have a cold I am getting over (I will never drink again and leave my mouth open....). We had a wonderful time. Relaxed. Slept. Napped. Ate.

and ate....
(walking around now even here at home, every time I hear something any close to the sound of a bell, I am hungry.....Pavlov was right....conditional reflexes and all.....{I will be taller, I will be taller.....}).

Gary and I are so fortunate to have laughter in our lives. We love to laugh, to laugh with others, and to get giddy from laughter. Having fun, and a sense of humor - no matter hot twisted - is one of the main ingredients to a successful relationship. To be able to laugh at ourselves and to laugh out loud, and to laugh together..... hmmmm...........I am blessed.

And to know others in this Secret Society: even better.

JOIN!!!

Enough about us......
well not just yet.

You know what isn't fair? That Gary can go outside, fall asleep in the hot sun - yes the same sun that cooked me in 20 minutes - and get tan. And stay tan. Me? I look at the sun, I burn, I peel.

Damn European Latins and their olive complexions.....(skin envy...). His mom was Portuguese, his dad born-and-raised in Spain. And the only wrinkles? around his eyes when he laughs.....
the happy wrinkles of fun.

Ok, now that is enough about us.....

All in all....a wonderful, relaxing and fun time had by all of us....


Take care.

David at Cafe Luna