Many of our readers are busy people. They hustle and bustle and give of their talent, time and treasure unwaveringly.  Most claim that they are busier now than before they retired or at least before they moved to Mexico. This time of year they seem to work even harder because all of their favorite charities and causes are staging big events. The social and cultural life expands this time of year because old friends turn up and dramatic and musical organizations want to cash in on the increased population and all of this happens just when local fiestas go into full swing with bangs – the bangs of bottle rockets going off with every excuse (many with no excuse) at all hours of the day and night, so getting enough sleep is difficult.

For Americans (I can’t speak for Canadians since my family left Canada several generations ago), probably no holiday speaks of home as does Thanksgiving. Whether fact or fiction, just the word brings on visions of the perfect family gathered around a table laden with beautifully cooked favorite dishes (each family with its own recipes for them), in a room warmed by a fireplace (and central heating) with snowy trees seen through the window panes. Of course, few families are perfect, the turkey is often overcooked, many neighborhoods and towns no longer allow real wood fires and in much of the United States there is little or no snow this early in the year.

It’s always this way at the beginning of the “high” season. Folks, either newbies or those with lousy memories, start to complain about barking dogs, bottle rockets, loud music from noisy neighbors, people not speaking English and a myriad of other problems that would be solved “at home” by the swift implementation of city ordinances.