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July, 2011
and each day, it is
delivered to us by Manuel...
he is our panero...selling pastries and french bread and lots of assorted
goodies...
but he is much more than just a panero...
he is a philosopher, a business consultant, a teacher, a mechanic, a
therapist, a preacher, a politician, a friend...
and a panero...all rolled into one...so to speak...
there is no way you can miss him if you are at the house...he comes up the
street ringing his bell and announces (with authority): paaaaaanERO!
and since we live on a dead end street, if you miss him going up, you can
always catch him going down...
but you also cannot miss his big, toothless smile and enthusiastic waive...
the other day, a neighbor offered him a cool drink as he is out in the hottest
part of the day: 4:30 - 6:00...and he parked his 3 wheeled, mobile store and
walked to the cliff where they spent 10 minutes talking and pointing and
laughing...i thought that was so cool...
he will often stop up the street and hold court with 2 - 3 other
guys...talking about nothing, talking about everything...sometimes for 30
minutes as he puts his sales on hold while they solve the worlds
problems...and God knows, we need some problems solved in our little
world...they are very passionate about what they talk about...each one taking
time to make their point and taking as long as they need to do so...
many of our guests have found out if they buy something early in their stay
(he really has some good stuff...most of it is still warm from the oven when
he gets to our house) they will buy from him each afternoon if they see
him...and many plan to be back at the house after a day of fun in the sun,
just to get their treat for the day from Manuel...
even our little Italian Greyhound Leo knows wassup when he hears Manuel coming
up the street and he gets as excited as i do...wagging his tail as he heads to
the gate...
my favorite is a pastry with ham & cheese on the inside and a little sugar on
top...i eat one almost every day for breakfast...not exactly the breakfast of
champions, but it feels like soul food...and i ask Manuel once a week what
they are called, and i never remember, but then he gently reminds me for the
100th time...
he teaches me a bit of Spanish and provides me with his daily philosophies on
how great it is to be alive and how nice it is to work each day as he does...
it is neat to watch him as he gives a little taste to the kids in the street
dozens of times and he pats them on the head as they smile and run back to
their house to show their mom and dad their treat for the day...
i could go on and on, but i gotta go...
time for my breakfast pastry...
my daily bread...brought to me by the panero extraordinaire: Manuel
disfruta la vida...
Jimbo
Check out these other cool businesses on Isla Mujeres!
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