The Hourglass by M.A. Robins

Michael Robins has published a novel about his experiences in Yelapa in the 1970's; it is written in the form of recollections, with flashbacks, of a single week, when he lived in the house that Anton and Chris now have just past the root canal. The book is entitled The Hourglass, by M.A.Robins. It was published by TRAFFORD.COM, and is also available more cheaply on AMAZON.

You'll have fun trying to figure out the characters and it gives you a feeling of Yelapa as I remember it when I first arrived. If you're lucky and you are in Yelapa, I left my copy there for others to enjoy. However, it would be nice to support his talent.

Baja Desert Blooms

May 1983 Baja; returning home, first time in 50 years there is so much rain in the desert and it is blooming everywhere!

The spinster lay alone, dry, unloved, wrapped in a dusty sandstone housedress.

She moaned as lizards slithered between her thighs and slept a dream of wetness like an orgasm of the sky.

Her silent longing made her cry and as she wept these tears of life tumbled down her withered breasts feeding the growing things inside her as if they had been blessed.

She dreamt of hidden valleys voluptuous with mounds of variegated colors, flowers in between and all the sweet young things of virgin youth suckled as she cried out.

Maidenheads were formed again that night. The desert became a blushing bride.

Fables and Legends

Be sure to visit the Insider's Guide to Puerto Vallarta where you'll find tons of info about PV and Yelapa. There's a fun chapter called Fables and Legends that goes well with my Raicilla Dreams blog.

http://vallartainfo.com/puerto-vallarta-fables.htm

Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude....

VENIMOS Y PASAMOS/WE COME AND WE GO!

Up the lazy Rio Tuito on an equally lazy day...

Las Palabras: Maestro - master; imigra - slang for immigration; Rancho Naranjo - Orange tree ranch and a very special place; Todo el grupo se despidieron! - the entire group was fired; Un milagro - a miracle; La anima - the spirit; Un lugar de comercio - a place of commerce

These past few weeks I have observed how much we all come and go from Yelapa - sometimes it's just a day trip and other times people return after being away from the pueblo for years. It is a vacation location. It is a day trip on a party boat. It is a one-time visit or a lifetime of visits, winter relief from the frozen north or in a few odd cases, a year round experience stretching over a lifetime.

We (that ole dog, Lucky, that cute dog, Desi and I) all went to Puerto Vallarta to do legal imigra business. My pal, Kate, who lived here for about 10 years met us, along with our immigration maestro, Victor Cueva, who helps most of us here and we all had a mini-reunion. Victor also goes way back in Yelapa memories. He once recalled to me how 40 some years ago when he was a federal policeman he came to Yelapa on an "immigragion" raid and arrested Peggy Mandel....he laughed when he said they had no idea she was a personal friend of the then president of Mexico: Todo el grupo se despidieron!

Later we came home on the panga with Hanna and Ahmed, who return each year for at least one night on the anniversary of their meeting in Yelapa, this year with their son, Justice. In the 45 minute ride, we exchanged news about "old" Yelapa and where everyone was now. I got a long distance hug from Julie...we discussed Susana, who lived here until she died, surrounded by Yelapa friends in hospice in Oregon. Being part of the big Yelapa family, they are in touch with almost everyone who lived here 15 years ago up through today. It was as though no time had passed since we last had a visit.

Just the week before on my walk upriver I stopped at Jarret and Natalia's Rancho Naranjo and ran into another old friend from those old days. We were all so close and more involved in each other's lives back then. After all there was no electricity, phone, internet and only one panga per day. One was not expected to phone before dropping by; hospitality was required and visits were truly welcomed and prolonged and usually included sharing a meal.

Farther back in time the first panga (after sails) to Puerto Vallarta took 2-3 hours via smelly, diesel powered engine. When we did go to Puerto Vallarta there was not much to do. It was possible to do all your chores in one day since selection was so limited. These days we shop at several stores. Pretty much everything else can be found in the pueblo now that we have refrigeration. I've heard a few people even have air-conditioning! Beware, the end is near!

I can only hope the connections formed here among the newer international residents will continue on beyond the current trend toward business ventures. Few people realize they are changing the scene, changing the tempo, bringing a faster, most sophisticated attitude, maybe even interfering with the pueblo's right to self-determination. Well, maybe not. Just yesterday at the playita where I swim I had a chat with a pal, who barely told me how he was, never mentioned how many whales he had seen, who had come for a visit - I barely recall being asked anything. Instead he told me how business was. Before I left an old-timer gringo who was carrying his laptop told me he couldn't be bothered to use dial-up internet; he was too impatient; he needed highspeed-wireless...this from a man who used to fish for his existence here...my, my, my. It shocks me that dial-up is no longer un milagro.

I know there's no putting us back in the bottle. I just hope everyone remembers each unit built must have water, septic, trash removal and creates not only wealth but waste. Mostly remember to be a good friend to the pueblo, take time to make real friends, and keep the custom alive of leaving but always coming back because Yelapa has always been a healing place for la anima as well as un lugar de comercio.

Vamos dejar atras huellas diminutas! - Let's just leave behind tiny footprints!

Maria

http://a-word-from-yelapa.typepad.com/

Birds... January 1979

Pelicans drifting above cresting ocean

Diving before me in repetitious motion

Occasionally scooping a shadowy streak

In its otherwise amusing most useful beak.

Blue-footed Boobies step in syncopation

Sifting for tidbits with antic gyration

Sooner than later you sight one a munchin'

While searching on sandbars for tasty luncheon.

Up Rio, Egrets cluster together

Flocked on the river, birds of a feather

China white cloud as they burst into flight

Souring together in compadre delight.

Paricos abound in this tropical clime

Verdant, turquoise and radiant lime

Chattering loudly as if in agreement

That paradise suits them far better than cement.

While Hummingbirds hover as if in suspension

Sipping the nectar in every direction

So silent these tiny jewels of the air

Except for their wing songs, you'd not be aware.

Myriad creatures abound in this bay

So grand to witness another Yelapa Day.

Brian Mathson RIP

Brian J. Mathson, 63, of Grand Marais, Minnesota died February 8, 2010, in an automobile accident in Lake County.

Rabo de Meztisa

Pepe's Receipe for Rabo de Meztisa

which he prepared for me and demonstrated how to make in his own words...

eggs, 2 per person

Chile poblano, roasted and cut into ribbons

Tomatos or puré

Onion, garlic, oregano, sweet basil, nutmeg

Cream or mild yogurt

Cotija; dry cheese

1. Fry minced onion (plenty) and garlic til transparent

2. Add a good bed of crushed tomatoes or puré let simmer 10 minutes, adding the spices and salt, plus a good pinch of knorr chicken bullion

3. Carefully dispose the eggs in a pattern, on the bed of tomatoes to poach

4. Locate your eggs between slices of poblano (to know where they are) and grate a generous amount of cotija

5. When the eggs are nearly done, cover everything with a layer of sour cream or yogurt

buen provecho!

Learning to Spearfish and then some...

I make a wonderful new friend. Bob D. and I become bosom buddies and play together for 2 weeks. He teaches me about the sea and snorkeling. Especially, how to use the sling. I hit my first fish right before I leave Mexico in June. I can't believe the rush of killing a fish...my bloodlust surprises me totally. Massage was another thing I learned how to do. There was so much about him I loved - such a good man - a very sweet relationship between us, unusually honest and in that honesty - pure. I miss him.

At a PV medical lab before we split Mexico, we find we both have entamoeba histolytica. However, once back in the states they say there seems to be no sign.

I go ahead with the meds anyway!

To Burn or Not to Burn?....That is the Question

Last week I started reading old journals and letters from my first years in Yelapa. I intended to separate into piles and decide which might stay and which would go the way of a special burn. Did I really need to keep all these ramblings and letters? I managed to shred a couple...just bad memories....why keep them to remind of something sad? I laughed through most pages and some set me back a bit with hard memories and tough times...put the letters d. wrote in a folder for her...found a couple from Izzy...kept to treasure....one from Peggy M...also now gone who gave me sound advice about an old beau...amazing letters from all sorts of people...

I even found the last name of a friend I have not seen or spoken to in 32 years. I had always wondered what had become of this gentle man that crossed paths with me that first year in Yelapa. Could never find him as I thought I did not have his name..and there it was in my journal. I immediately went to FB and found 4 with his name..I asked if they had ever been to Yelapa and by sheer luck...there he was....we reconnected and I have a new old friend again. He taught me to spearfish.

Most of my poems and notes are corny or overly dramatic..here is a poem I wrote about Yelapa that first year...I was 29 and it had been raining for 3 weeks.

Nothing moves when it rains

even the sea looks calm, unable to rush against the weight of falling water.

Each tree is a dreamy vision

Each palm frond is a memory unmoving locked into position

no longer vibrant with life, no movement.

Down, down the torrents pour encasing all the living,

enveloping all with long cool fingers.

Blurred mist.

I am locked into position unable to escape my boundary

while the cats continue to demand.

Ok, if you can handle that one, I'll publish some more!

What It's Nearly June!!

It's nearly June and I have no stories written for you. Peggy Barrett sent me these photos to share. Thanks, Peggy.

I can't seem to settle down and write at the moment, please, Yelapa friends, I know you have stories out there you want/need to send me. We're all waiting patiently.

I just heard from my dear old friend Mike O'Hara....he lives in Hawaii now with his wife Karen. When I first came to Mexico, Mike came along, too. We were in love in Omaha, but, in Yelapa it didn't fare as well...one day when Susie and I were swimming in the nude, he crept along the shore and stole our clothes...We could see him perfectly from the water and thought he was hilarious with his sneaky ways.

I'm BAAACK!

It's April and I've returned from wintering in Yelapa once again. How does time pass so quickly?

Yelapa was so lush and green this year due to late rains. The little creeks flowed the entire time...one next to Pepés and the other past Karina's. It was still moving when I left on Tuesday and I have never seen that in all these years.

There were many wet days this winter and storms blowing everything around the palapa. A mini hurricane had Deeanne, Carrie, and me hiding in the baño. Every couple minutes Carrie would fling open the door to see what was happening...“Are we really going to die together in this baño,” she exclaimed? 3 good friends ending up in the same spot at the same time in the same storm...what are the odds of that? We lived.

I met wonderful new people, lost my flippers and thanks to Conejo they were returned, lost 5 lbs which i don't want returned, painted visors til I ran out, painted painted til I couldn't, made jewelry which Lalo is helping me sell, ate lots of delicious Helschein gourmet meals, won at Rinky Dink enough times to feel cocky, swam almost daily in the yummiest water in years, ate flan at Tacos y Mas, drank Dina's fabulous margaritas, laughed at Penney and Ed's family stories, flirted just a little, danced til it hurt, shot lots of photos, listened to silly gossip, well, I think you get the picture...I am happiest in Yelapa, let's face it.

There are promises of more photos and stories to come from you out there! So, get with it folks and send them to me. Beth Coffelt! Finish your story!

Another Year Slips Away

Yes, it's winter and I am leaving for Yelapa very shortly. I looked through some notes from last year and found I arrived in Yelapa exactly a year ago from the day I'll be coming this time. No plan in that!

If you have stories and pictures to share...please email them or catch me on the trail and tell me your tale.

Until next Spring, then....hasta luego, amigos!

Patty's Tidbits

I’ve known Patty since I first arrived on the beach of Yelapa, but getting her to share her amazing stories is like pulling duck teeth. I sat patiently while she played scrabble on the beach and pulled little bits out of her like petals off a flower.

Patricia followed her brother Victor Vanderflugt (another story, another time) to Yelapa in 1974. She arrived on New Year’s Eve to the Oceano Hotel where she slept on a bed in a closet as the hotel was full. I know this must be true as I once stayed in a closet during Easter!

She had a dream in the second grade of living in a jungle. Patty said it was a recurring dream til she fell in love. Her dream was like a Tarzan movie living in caves under a waterfall.

She stayed for one month and told her brother that was not long enough.The next time would need to be two months.

She stayed at Casa Emi with friend Janie Larson and used to make challah (braided bread) with her. Janie now lives in New Zealand with her husband Bob. They are sailors and old Santa Cruz connections for several of us..

Patty fell in love with dancing in Yelapa, but worried that she didn’t know how to do it right. Victor told her to dance to the beat of the music, it didn’t matter how. She’s been dancing ever since.

She was married but her husband didn’t want to come to Yelapa. He liked the rain. She tried to get him to come the second year, but it was the same. Eventually she left him for her full time life in Yelapa.

She had wanted to go to nursing school.

Her husband said he’d call off the divorce if she would stay home, but feisty Patty said no, she didn’t want to be controlled!

She met and fell in love with Valentin in Yelapa and now lives behind the main beach year round in her palapa surrounded by her beautiful gardens. Patty celebrates her 83rd BD this year....be sure to stop and greet her and get her to tell you some of those great stories...then come tell me!

Patricia was born in 1927 and has 4 children. One daughter is married to a marine in S. Korea.

Zalate Fire

Although it's a bit hard to see, here is a very dramatic photo sent by Leslie Korn of the fire to the Zalate.

photo credit: Celeste Greco1982

History Contributed by Leslie Korn

Soon after Janet and I arrived in

in 1973, Rick the Stick asked Janet if we would teach school for his children. This evolved into a little one room schoolhouse in the Zalate, which we ran between 1974 and 1977. Bett’s children, Drew and Trevor attended every morning for 3 hours, as they lived a few houses up the path; The Robinson kids were there occasionally and Liuba’s kids took the putt putt in from Colimita and landed at the beach when the ocean allowed.

Betts paid us $20 a week to teach her kids, which was just enough to live on. Betts was very committed to her kids and their education. Since I had always hated school (and had recently dropped out of the university) I had the opportunity to teach all the things I wished I had been taught; together we danced to trance music, did yoga, wrote poetry while listening to Stravinsky, spent time down by the lagoon to study frogs, read National Geographic and cooked, baked and shopped at the tiendas in order to learn arithmetic.

Rick died in ‘74 and we never worked with his children, but we came to inhabit the Zalate because Fran, a mid age American Spanish teacher who had lived her adult life with a Mexican husband in Morelos somehow got the house. She wasn’t staying long and like many people she liked the idea of a house in Yelapa more than the reality of it. She asked us to housesit which we did for years until she let us take over lease in ‘77. We re-roofed the house in ’79 and built the little treatment house next door and then did so again after it burned down in ‘82.

I ran into Kathryn Hill a few years back and she gave me this photo of us at a party at Betts and Byron’s. 1977

In May of 1982 Casa Zalate, often referred to as the Casa Juanitas (1975-2002) caught fire from the heat spreading from the fire at Rita Tillets’ house. There were two theories about the fire: one was that the Mexican owner burned the place down so he could get the property back from Rita and Howard who were trying to arrange for Zona Federal, and the other was that in a drunken state one of the Tillets knocked over a candle. Quien sabe?

At the time Airforce Dan was watching our house as he lived in the Galeria next door. He later told me that he raced over to dampen down the house with water with a hose from the watertank, but the ground was so hot that when he got close he could tell that the house was going to erupt from beneath. He said he ran for his life as it exploded.

I was up in Boston in the middle of giving a Polarity treatment when Byron called me with the news. We rebuilt the Zalate and the small treatment house that summer with money loaned to me by my parents.

People in the village brought plants for the garden. Don Juan Cruz gave us free rent for a few years, Buddy Berlin paid for the rock wall to be rebuilt and Saul Kaplan (of Saul and Sandy, who had built their house next to Ratza’s a few years earlier) personally installed the whole water system.

(Photo credits) Celeste Greco1982, gave me this photo that she took of the fire.

In 1997 Rudy was speaking at a conference in Los Alamos at the invitation of Marjorie Bell-Chambers, on the 50th anniversary of the end of WW2. He put some of our Yelapa seminar brochures on the speakers table. After his talk, Kay Harper, 83, introduced herself to him and told him her story about how in 1958 she canoed over to Yelapa with her husband, the Los Alamos Laboratory photographer Bob Harper, and Steve Glumaz whom they’d met in a bar in PV.

These are a few of Bob”s photos of their stay in Yelapa. Later that year, Kay donated her husband’s Yelapa photos and her notebooks about her travels to Mexico, to our non- profit the Center for World Indigenous Studies’ www.cwis.org <http://www.cwis.org> , where we host the online Bob Harper Collection which includes some great shots of both Yelapa and PV in 1958.

Photo Credits: Robert Harper 1958

for more stories and information from Leslie Korn please go to:

https://lekorn.wordpress.com/

SCROLL DOWN TO BEGINNING OF BLOG

To read all the posts you will need to scroll down to bottom and choose archives found listed on the lefthand side of the window.

LIAR LIAR 12“ X 12”

you know who you are!

I just figured out how to post these photos in larger format! So here are some of my recent paintings done in Yelapa.

Little Foxes 12“ X 12” acrylic on board

commemorating the rabid fox scare

that's me in the jungle whistling a happy little tune to keep them at bay...no killing sticks for me.

Snake Eyes 12“ X 12” acrylic on board

GoTo Websites for PV and Yelapa Info

BTW readers, there are many good websites on Yelapa and PV, but a couple faves for current information are found at:

http://vallartainfo.com/index.html maintained by JR

http://yelapa.info/ maintained by David

http://www.palapainyelapa.com/ by Brad

What's Missing?

Native Son

Guaco has been in charge of the Helschein estate for over 30 years. As my Spanish gets tuned in I learn more from this gentle man and his sweet pretty wife, Elena. She keeps the big house in check during the main season and they both open and close the houses as needed. They are proud parents of three grown children and two grandchildren.

Loriano Lorenzo is Guaco's given name. I tease him that it is a movie star name, but he does not like it and prefers his nickname which has stuck with him since the age of four.

His mother is 93 and gave birth to 14 children of which nine are still living. Families intermarried with other families and Guaco is connected by blood to many in Yelapa. He's always telling me so and so, yes, he's my cousn, etc. His mother was from Chicala so there is family blood connection there, too. She now receives the new social security for those over 70. This has been recently enacted by the new government. He told me he had to take time off to head over to PV with her paperwork and photo to collect her bimonthly small stipend.

Guaco tells me Yelapa before gringos was poor but what they needed to live well was all here. The sea was full of fish, fruits abound on trees and they could grow vegetables. Sometimes the family would paddle to points across the Bay for maiz and other needs trading fish as they went.

Often they would paddle in large canoas (dugouts) with 6 men standing with oars and passengers in the bottom. They would travel at night in the full moon taking 2-3 hours to reach Punta Mita or Sayulita.

Life was simple, the river was clean and basic needs were met. Medicines and soap often came directly from the plants, barks and sap from the mountains behind the village.

Guaco received his nickname from his grandfather who heard him sing like a bird when he was little. It stuck.

Talk turned to the gringo discovery of Yelapa. Guaco felt it was mostly Hollywood connected when the filming of Night of the Iguana took place in the early 60's. The Mismaloya notoriety with its stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton brought a new set of characters such as Ava Gardner, Donovan, Jack Nicholson, Candace Bergen and many more to this little village.

To read more about Yelapa History please go to an account based on research at the Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, in 1991 and 2005 by Carolyn McCall, Ph.D.

http://www.palapainyelapa.com/pages/history_project.html

From Primo's Place Upriver By Janie Bell Burton

“Seeing those old pics and hearing Beth's name made me think of when I was housesitting their place, and a poem written there, yes thirty years ago. went scouring through the archives and found it. So different than the Point.” (janie Bell Burton)

From primo's place upriver

Awakening to sounds of a fiesta in a mountain pueblo

Ay..ay..ay no mistake- voices abounding in zest

a singing Latin love

zinging

men flinging dark senoritas round and round

sparking eyes as she tries to capture his gaze

rapture in the crowd, feet pounding ever-quickening time

Ay...Chingada and a throaty spit

I sit up in my bed,mind floating from the dancing square

Staring; in a trance- realising I’m at home

oo-oo the Spanish love songs

only on the radio of a passer-by

Only a passer-by?

walking on the path and bringing me other worlds

Now shrills and trills of child’s delight

And to recognize a laugh

no disguising that half-man’s voice,

rejoicing in the still morning

adorning the trail with joy.

A boy whistling,keeping pace with his mule

A woman boldly singing

I peep through the trees to see

but no face for this pure song; loud and proud

As she strides along,with a panting dog

Who won’t admit to last night’s cacaphony

As if daylight acquits him of his crime.

Who’s the next star vocalist?

With background harmonies from the Chicken Sisters

and their Crooning Rooster-

it’s grand to see this concert’s free

Wait.

Majesty

Back on Track

Hi, I'm finally ready to post some more stories and photos. I've had a busy summer fixing up my house...Lorenzo CacaVaca was here painting the outside and a couple inside rooms and living in The Whimsical in my driveway. He's a very accomplished painter in case you want to line him up for next summer. Then I visited Manhattan for a couple weeks and now I'm ready to roll.

Came across some photos taken in the 60's by a spunky lady named Helen. She's the mother of my friend Prudence Masseth. Pru and her husband Kim Tolleson were major volleyball players in the late 70's in Yelapa. I met them in 1978 and later reconnected with them when I moved to Santa Cruz. They were some of my Yelapa connections in this area. Victor Vanderflugt, Rob Holt, and Deeanne Hooker were the others. I bought my house from Kim and Pru in 1980 and still live here and that's what Lorenzo painted.

Pru called the other day to tell me she found some photos of her mother who came to Yelapa for one of her honeymoons! I guess she's had a few others. I'm posting her photos and the descriptions she wrote on the backs. Pru had no idea her mother had come to Yelapa when she and Kim chose to go there. It was just in the blood, I guess.

Here are some of the photo captions Helen wrote of her impressions 40 years ago. She's in her 80's now.

“Our boat coming into Yellapa (sic). The bldgs on beach are Hotel Lagunita all coconut thatch and those hills are full of wild animals. This is really a wild place. Lots of American artists & characters live here. This is all very tropical.”

“This was our hotel room. A bed, a bureau & big mosquito netting over bed. We had armadilla (sic) for lunch one day. Yellapa.”

“Yellapa Mexico. Amazing place. We slept in a cocconut (sic) thatched hut. Ate armadilla drank Ricea. Great.”

“Puerto Vallarta. Josepha in fore ground in bikini & hair to waist. Had wonderful small shop. Everything handmade. Everything embroidered. Hand made silver earrings. Very fascinating. Small shops in background - dress & food. My honeymoon with Bob Lawlor.”

“Puerto Vallarta. Church at end of street is very beautiful inside.”

“Puerto Vallarta. Our honeymoon. Dear Bob.”

Charming little photos may be hard to decipher, but I'm compelled to include them.

Barbara Eager died last week after a long fight with cancer. She lived in PV for many years as owner/designer of Que Barbara Designs producing custom bathing suits.

A major catalyst in my life and a friend from long ago...we both grew up in Lincoln, NE. Barbara introduced me to Mexico and most importantly to Yelapa. Her son Todd Wagner works and lives in PV. I hope to have more information for you soon regarding the loss of another special expat.

If you have any stories or memories to share please forward them.

Our friend Ivana Carlson passed Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 10:30 p.m.

Condolences to her daughter Linda Worrell and grandson Blake.

May God Bless Her Spirit and Transition

more information will follow when available

please share your memories of Ivana

Art on Display June 3 - July 7, 2009

My Paintings

June 3 - July 7, 2009

Seabreeze Cafe, 542 Seabright, Santa Cruz

Hours 6am-2pm M-F, 7am-1pm Sat. & Sun.

These paintings were created the last 2 winters in Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico. I have been going there since 1977 and during the winter months I live in the jungle. There is constant sound as I have no doors or walls. My surroundings are the sea, the sky, and the jungle. I live outdoors.

I carry my brushes and acrylic paints south each January. The masonite boards are sold at the tiny local school supply. I bought a stack and began painting retablos about my life in the jungle and visions the winds brought me. Some boards have stories written on the back.

Art supplies are scarce, the boards not cut evenly, bugs land in my paint, the wind flips them across the casita covering them with dust and frass. These imperfections became part of each painting.

Stop by if you're in the area and have a delicious breakfast or lunch at this Santa Cruz institution...and see my work.

More On Nicknames

Pepe himself was known to some villagers as "Ladeado" because he kept his head always tilted to one side.

There was Beautiful Gary and Hollywood Cary. To some, Peggy was called Pegamundo. There was Pablo The Rapist---maybe the same as your Pablo the Pigfucker.

To the villagers I was Don Miguel, but to my friends---or enemies?---I was Raicilla Mike. The latter resulted from a session Jerry Roberts and I had with a gallon jug of the good stuff, starting at the Yacht Club and ending in a gulch somewhere. Jerry made it home at dawn with multiple lacerations, while my liver has never completely recovered.

 

Steve The Beachcomber, a wonderful man. Gave me my first shot of raicilla as an innocent tourist in 1967. Let's not forget Emmy, grandson of Ralph Waldo. Lived in the little house next to the trail down to the beach. How about Santa Claus---Howard, who launched fizzy rockets at night, once burning down the roof at Hotel Lagunita. Give me time and I'lll think of others. Buddy used to invent hilarious nicknames for sundry characters----my favorite was "Anana, Banana and Papaya" for certain ladies.

Of course, there was IS. She was terrific---and she didn't "depend on what your definition of is is".....courtesy of Michael Robins

Nicknames Being Added

OK, I think this nickname thing could get out of control...

How about nicknames that stuck! Most everyone used them...

Pizza Phil, Rick the Stick, Filipino Chris, Rolex Jeff, Mosquito Woman, The Nose Flute

Comments & Tidbits

For Yelapa historians. Thank you Faye, thank you David Berlin.

HOWEVER: another subsequent field for primary research would be who NAMED
the nicknames, and what avatars they have attended throughout the years.

Byron would be an excellent source. I will make sure he got this blog and
get him to add and correct.

MEANWHILE:
David is, understandably, the authority on the Point and the Root Canal, but
yes, David, there is an upriver - pretty sketchy there.

--Cadillac Ed! Primo named Cadillac Ed - he said that Ed looked like
somebody who had worked hard all his life in order to finally buy a
Cadillac, and in this case, Yelapa was Ed's Cadillac.

Primo and Jaime
together Yclept Pablo the Pigfucker, truly a legendary character and
deserving of having his name fully spelled out.

--Hammock Jerry is a self-awarded euphemism for Jock Strap Jerry. But they
are the same lovable jerk.

--I take credit for No Neck Frank.

--Primo was called Primo not because he was first in anything or anybody's
cousin but because he used to go around in an old Primo (Hawaiian) Beer
t-shirt.

--Upriver Pegge, Upriver Gail. The Cacahuate Woman. Nurse Christina. Ratza
(her name was really Shirley). And - last but by no means least - Sailor
Bob.

Sailor Bob was renamed after housesitting for Lang and, while there,
throwing all the household appliances - washing machine, TV, etc. - down the
hill in a fit of something or other. His name then became "Housesitter Bob."

Reno Dick was also known (by me, anyway) as Las Vegas Dick. He was a very
funny guy.

Now we need stories about all these people. Who's first?

.....contributed by Beth Coffelt