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A bit of an emergency my dear, devoted fans.

“I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, since by tonight I shall be no more. Penniless, and at the end of my supply of the drug which alone makes life endurable, I can bear the torture no longer; and shall cast myself from this garret window into the squalid street below.” ― H.P. Lovecraft, Dagon + + +  So this post is a tad unusual. Its a plea. Fuck I hate doing this kind of thing.  A plea, one I had not expected to make as for a good while everything was going fairly, mostly, well for me in financial matters. However my passport expires soon, which is only a problem since I live in a foreign country at the moment. I had the money to renew it, but my car blew out two tires in one week. One from simple fatigue by the look of it, the other one caught a bullet ricochet while I was driving with two friends in the car. It would seem we passed down the wrong street in the wrong town. It happens. It sucks, and drained my savings
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The Return of The Return

"When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!" - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote  + + + I have been absent from this blog for a good long time now. Other things have occupied my time. My novel, basic survival, crippling depression, agonizing pain and the desperate search for some relief from it, and surely more than that. Do not think I have forgotten you, my dozens of readers. Oh no. Not a day goes by that I don't think upon this little collection of personal history and attempts at witty observations. There just never seems anything to say. Not worth putting down anyway. But here I am. Once again attempting to give my audience something to chew on while I myself go over what I write again and again hoping I'm not embarrassing myself any further.
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Tessa's Experiences Living the Cartel Life: Or, My Cat Has More Adventures Than I Do.

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“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” - Nelson Mandela + + + Woke up feeling good despite some setbacks. All in all it wasn't a bad day yesterday except for Tessa running off in the middle of the night and no coming home after an hour or to as usual. So far she has been missing almost 20 hours, so I have been unable to administer her medication... then my right front tire went out on me (It developed a bubble the size of a tennis ball) and I had to use the last of my cat-related savings to keep Greta from becoming an expensive lawn ornament. Thats life, you win some, you get kicked in the balls with a steel toed boot. Many hours later, nearly 24, Tessa has returned. She is clearly fond of our giant yard and the local businesses nearby, Thankfully the neighborhood is fulled with generally nice folks, and her collar clearly states where she lives, That said, seeing a couple of apparent cart
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The Inconveinience of Being Proud of My Native Heritage

“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shore, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it. Our children are still taught to respect the violence which reduced a red-skinned people of an earlier culture into a few fragmented groups herded into impoverished reservations.” ― Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  + + + [This post is reprinted and somewhat altered from its original version on my private FB a
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The Return!

Just a short, simple notice to the dozens of readers who keep up with my ramblings that I might have some time soon to start working on this project again. It tuns out writing a novel and getting it published is hard work. Who would have thought that? Anyways, look for more content from 'Dispatches' in the not too distant future, despite working on a sequel to the novel. As well as a collection of shot stories which involve collaboration with a bunch of fine artists... damn, I really do hate boredom it would seem... The novel can be found at the link below, and for the next 3 days (from 8am or pm until 8am or pm on the 2nd of February) will be $0.99. Slightly less than a dollar. Hopefully many of you will look at that and say "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KVRCN17?pf_rd_p=1581d9f4-062f-453c-b69e-0f3e00ba2652&pf_rd_r=X34725S0SQDRAHVZJ857
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The Subcontractors: The Liberian Incident

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The reason I have been neglecting 'Dispatches' is I have been hard at work finishing my first full length fiction novel. Well, its done, and will be an Amazon Kindle exclusive! Digitally, anyway, there will be paperback copies as well in short order. Here, I'll just repost from my Facebook account to fill my tens of readers here on the details. As an aside, this means more 'Dispatches' coming your way soon. Be warned. + + + The novel is getting published! It will be an Amazon Kindle exclusive initially. The price for the digital copy is $3.99 USD, and that includes the amazing cover art that Sarah Botta contributed to the effort. While I'm thanking contributors I want to thank Ken Pittaway for his tireless efforts as my editor. I honestly don't think this would have happened without his persistent encouragement and editorial efforts. The other big news is THERE WILL BE MOTHER FUCKING PAPERBACKS! It takes longer to get that set up but I a
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Everyone can relax, I'm still alive.

There will be more content soon. I've been busy between moving to different places here in Mexico and finishing the novel that never seemed to get done. Well, its done! Which leaves only the administrative angles to work on and so I will be back to writing non-fiction about my time here in Mexico. Just wait, there are some fairly interesting stories coming your way o' faithful readers. -R
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Xanax, Vodka and Beautiful Women: Another Strange Night on The Border

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"I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots." - Hunter S. Thompson + + +                                                                            A 3:30am drive in a futile attempt to find tacos instead found a gorgeous girl that I made a passing acquaintance with shortly after I moved here. She was walking down the street with the same half sexy-half in the bag swagger that makes her strangely easy to identify from any angle. Indeed, any angle is appealing with her on a physical level. She has, like so many in parts of Mexico, lost much to the cartel wars. Her father specifically. She gave up her education in the United States in order to return to Mexico to care for her mother, only to discover upon arrival that her mother was not so bad off
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Adventures in Fattening Myself Up In The Lone Star State: Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen Edition

"All right, Popeye's here! Get your hands on your heads, get off the bar, and get on the wall"  - Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, The French Connection + + +  Of late things around here have been less than ideal. I prefer to not go into the daily minutiae of my difficulties. Suffice to say that thus far none of them have been caused directly by living in Mexico. So far, Mexico, its people, its culture, its food, and its shockingly polite drivers  have been very good to me. In happier news when I must cross the border into the forsaken lands known as South Texas there is a recently discovered beacon of hope I can always look forward to. About 18 kilometers or so (I have my GPS set to metric as that is how they roll south of the border, and I like to avoid speeding tickets in any country) from the border amidst a never ending sea of strip malls, tire salons, car washes... the dust.. the dust gets on and into everything, auto dealerships, pawn shops, and chain
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Dia Del Turista: Or How I learned To Stop Worrying And Love Drunken Tourists

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 "The global phenomenon of poverty tourism - or 'poorism' - has become increasingly popular during the past few years. Tourists pay to be guided through the favelas of Brazil and the shantytowns of South Africa. The recently opened Los Angeles Gang Tour carries visitors through battle-scarred territories of urban violence and deprivation." - Leslie Jamison + + + March 21st is kind of a big deal here in Nuevo Progreso. It marks the end of the winter tourism season. "Winter Texans" are the lifeblood of the local economy, mostly retirees fleeing the cold winters of their home state, or country, there are more than a few winter Texans that hail from Canada.Most of them seem to hail from the Midwestern United States. At least as far as the ones I've spoken to, and the shirts proclaiming their home state along with some slogan about being a Texan when its convenient (winter). [[And so the Day of Tourists begins...]] Dia del Turista its called
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Subscription Rewards: "I remember... The Alamo."

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Respect is one of life's greatest treasures I mean, what does it all add up to if you don't have that? - Marilyn Monroe + + + I cannot offer you self respect, but I can offer weird shit from Mexico. A few subscribers and a few friends who are also subscribers, or have assisted in this endevour in other ways, I feel are far too underappreciated. Seeing as Tess and I are living meager paycheck to meager paycheck down here while exploring, photographing, and writing about this marvelous country it dawned on me that those who have held out their hands, and wallets, to our Patreon and PayPal.Me accounts are not as appreciated as I would like them to be. So, with what little extra cash Tess and I have managed to scrape together over the last few weeks we have assembled the 'Mexican Box of Mystery'! [[Behold its mysterious mystery!]] What could be inside? Well, that is part of the mystery. There are many things for may different people. Some friends I
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The Return Of Dr. Pancho Villa, M.D.: The Docotor Makes A Housecall

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"You bravos had better be ready to fight, or we'll never get out of East Texas tonight, but the trail is long and the river is wide, and my ride's here" - Warren Zevon, My Ride's Here + + + My day tends to start around 10:30am or so most of the time. No more early mornings on the corners barking or occasionally DJ'ing for Vampiz has allowed me to set my own schedule for work (writing, which tends to be in fits and starts throughout the day unless I'm on a roll). Which is nice, since I am not a morning person. I tend to shamble out of bed like something from the 'Legend of Boggy Creek' films, swallow my morning fistful of pills (allergy meds, the price I pay for my lovely cat, vitamins, and acetaminophen with codeine to allow me to move without wincing in pain constantly). After that its typically a lovely hot shower thanks to my miracle shower head with a built in heating unit. I admit its not the safest of showers, but it is hot, with
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