I'm in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico as I write this. And often, before I come here, some of my friends ask me if I'm not afraid to visit South of the border.
And my answer is usually the same. I reply that there are places in Phoenix and other areas of the United States that are as dangerous - or more so - than here. Think Chicago, for example, where there may be 40 shootings on a weekend. Or Los Angeles, or any other metropolitan areas where gangs do battle over drug turf.
In my 25 years of coming here, I've never seen a fight. And, even though people drive as crazily as anywhere, I've only seen one or two auto accidents.
In my experience, this is a peaceful and friendly place and I can easily visualize myself living here someday out of the hustle and bustle of the Phoenix metro area where I've lived for over 30 years.
As an example of how gracious the folks are here, I'll tell you about how some locals helped me out of a dilemma this past Sunday. I 'd pulled over to use a portable bathroom at the roadside. And when I was done and started to drive off I was unable to drive anywhere. The patch of dirt I'd parked on consisted of a crust of sand on top of a pool of wet sand that had swallowed our rental car to the front bumper. And no matter what I tried I was going nowhere.
While I was trying to dig my way out with my hands, a cab driver dressed in a white shirt and tie stopped and offered his help, but to no avail. Then a gentleman in a BMW stopped and tried pulling us out with a nylon strap he attached to his bumper. Still no luck.
By now, we were surrounded by a gathering of neighbors - men, women, and children - offering to help. And finally, with the BMW pulling, and about ten neighbors pushing, we were unstuck.
And the interesting thing is that most of them didn't want to accept any pesos for their efforts. It was simply a case of people wanting to be helpful to their fellow humans - gringos they didn't even know and might never see again.
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