Life in Mexico
I was out walking on the beach near Oasis Restaurant the other morning when I spotted two baby turtles scrambling to get into the sea. The surf pushed them back time after time, but they eventually were able to submerge.
The region is a hotbed for sea turtles, and volunteers in Tortugario Manzanillo (check out their page on Facebook), find nests and relocate the eggs to an ecological sanctuary south of town. They do so to prevent theft by unscrupulous poachers.
Unfortunately, there’s not much they can do to protect against predators. A large flock of pelicans had gathered on the shore and were busily dive-bombing for breakfast. Most of their brothers and sisters will never make it to maturity, but here’s hoping the two I spotted have a long, happy life.
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Recipe: Watermelon Salad
Back by popular demand! This is absolutely the most amazing fruit salad, one that your guests will be talking about for ages. It is very easy to make and is a refreshing palate cleanser between courses. Most of all, it will put a big smile on everyone’s face!
Ingredients
Seedless watermelon.
1/4 cup of Pine nuts.
1 cup Feta cheese, cubed
Mint leaves (optional)
Creamy balsamic vinegar
Directions
Cut the watermelon into cubes (just under 1 inch on the side).
Lightly toast the pine nuts.
Cube the feta cheese into ½ inch size.
Just before serving, mix all the ingredients together (this keeps the pine nuts crispy). Serve at the table and let guests add the creamy balsamic vinegar as dressing.
Book Review
By Any Other Name
By Jodi Picoult
Picoult is a tremendously gifted writer who tackles some of the most daunting contemporary problems confronting America, including High School massacres (Nineteen Minutes) and racism (Small Great Things).
In this 2025 work, Picoult goes back in history to the Elizabethan Era in the early 1600s to expose the long-standing roots that govern who can be heard, and when.
The premise begins in the present, when Melina Green, a young playwright, finds herself in a terrible bind. Her friend Andre secretly submitted one of her works to a notoriously misogynistic competition under the male pseudonym Mel Green.
When Melina is picked as a finalist, she has the option of revealing the truth or hiding behind Andre’s beard to get the work onstage. Ironically, By Any Other Name is based upon a late 16th century poet who had been historically linked to Shakespeare as the author of some of his most famous plays.
At the time, a woman writing plays would have created a scandal; Emilia Bassano had to hide behind the famous author’s name in order to get her plays performed.
As her dilemma unfolds, Melina is swept along in a complex ethical argument; should she wait until the play is success and then reveal her authorship in order to expose the underbelly of gender discrimination in the theater, or follow her gut instinct and see her production abandoned?Fortunately, women novelists today have tremendous access to publication, and Picoult’s work is available around the world in 34 languages. I highly recommend By Any Other Name!
TV Review
Dead Like Me
Streaming on Prime
This is a series that was first aired by Showtime in 2003. It went on to be nominated for several Emmy awards but didn’t last more than two seasons.
Which is a shame! Ellen Muth plays Georgie, an 18-year old slacker who gets hit by a toilet seat that fell off a Soviet space craft. Once dead, she quickly discovers there is an afterlife, and she has been conscripted to become a ‘grim reaper’ and collect the souls of the dead.
Not the best premise for a comedy, but they work it to the hilt. Georgie is teamed up with Rube (Mandy Patinkin), a follow-the-rules boss, as well as happy-go-lucky stoner Mason and uptight Roxy, a meter maid.
They meet in a pancake house and get their assignment for the day, which could be a luckless woman being hit by a falling piano or a barista who slips on a banana. Their job is to then escort them to a higher realm.
Naturally, not all goes according to plan. Some souls don’t want to go gladly into the night, and others miss their date with destiny. It’s then up to Georgie and gang to make things right.
This is a bizarre comedy with lots of absurd situations and deadpan humor throughout. I highly recommend Dead Like Me!