December 18

Ruben was in meetings all morning. I did reach him on his cell at noon, and he said he would call at one. It is now 2:30, and I am learning something about anxiety. The way I have been living, in this room and in this neighborhood, couldn't be sustained even if I wanted to, which I definitely do not.

Well, I don't have to after tomorrow morning. I rented a dinky, dirty "apartment" at the only RV camp in Victoria, about two blocks from the Villa Motel where I stayed my first night here. The apartment, room really, has a bed and a stove and cupboards and an air conditioner, a tiny bathroom, and a lot of dirt. But there are trees and grass outside, and the place is quiet (only three RVs there today), and the landlady, Rosie, whose husband died ten days ago, speaks English, and has a sense of humor. She wanted $250 a month. I bargained for $225 and got her to throw in some pots, pans and dishes. I move in tomorrow and start cleaning. It'll do. I'm happy.

I might have rented the place on my own. It was recommended by someone on the Mexico Connect BBS, and I would have called there if Ruben hadn't shown up. He had not found anything better than the first place we looked at on Saturday. We were headed to find the la senora who showed it to us, to see if it was still available, when I remembered the RV park recommendation. I told Ruben about it, and said that I figured it would cost too much, because an RV site typically costs $10 per night. Ruben said, well let's look at it anyway, and we drove over there. The place was pretty, once.

Rosie's son emerged from somewhere after we had tried several doors and had done some shouting. He carries his upper body stiffly, as though he has Parkinson's disease, and it was from him that we learned of his father's death. He showed us a couple of the apartments that were available, meaning they weren't filled with junk or damaged beyond repair, but those he showed us were untenable. Then Rosie showed up and showed us the best one, which I rented.

So Ruben is still a candidate for beatification. When he dropped me at the hotel, I asked if I could take him and his girlfriend out to dinner, and he said sure, and he asked if he could visit at the campground, and I said sure. I'll call him manana.