(Continued from  page 4)

Although many of us will miss it, Mexico celebrates its Independence Day (Sept. 16) from Sept. 13-16, with the center of municipal activities in the main square (Municipal Park) and a mega fireworks display there the night of Sept. 15.  In December, however, most of us will be in residence for the 150th year anniversary of Puerto Vallarta--plans are in progress and details for the event will be announced soon.

TELEPHONE FRAUD (Scam) ALERT!  (Published in PV'S TRIBUNE (8/27-9/2  issue)

1. Someone calls you by phone and tells you that they are from the technical service of the telephone company or a company that works for them.  It resembles the calls made by ATT, and they ask if you have a touch tone phone

2.  Saying that they need to conduct tests on your line, they ask you to dial 90# (nine-zero-number sign)

3.  Once you do that, they tell you that there is no problem, they thank you and hang up.

4. RESULT:  They have converted your line into a receiver of telephone calls from where they have called you so that all the calls they make are charged to your number.

FROM TELCEL...  BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR CELLULAR PHONE:

If you receive a message on your cell phone stating that you should call  0141455414, DO NOT DO IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.  Your monthly bill could increase tremendously, due to the fraudulent use of your cell number.

If they call you on your cell phone and introduce themselves as your server, asking you to dial 09 or 90, to check the proper operation, DO NOT DIAL THOSE DIGITS AND HANG UP IMMEDIATELY.

By this means, the fraud perpetrators are enabled to read your SIM card with which they can create a new one. This is being done on a large scale,  (Ing. Carlos Humberto Pirez Mancilla (TELCEL- Radiomovil DIPSA, S.A. de C.V., TPR, Servicios Fijos R8)

Here's also a drug warning from A. Prawer 8/29/01 regarding a recall on any medicines containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE--apparently used in some dietary supplements as well as cold remedy products including some Alka Seltzer cold medicines, Comtrex, Contac, Coridcidin, Dercetrapp, Naldecon, Permathene Mega-16, Tavist-D, Triaminic, including some children's cold medicines and expectorants. For info on the Children's remedies, call 1-800-548-3708; for others call the 800 number listed on the packaging.

 P.S.  We'll have coffee at the meeting Nov. 13--Bring some cookies!

And, something else to think about…

"Character and ideals are catching.  When you associate with men who aspire to the highest and best, you expose yourself to the qualities that make men great." and,

"It doesn't matter if you're on the right track, you'll still get run over if you don't keep moving." (Carol Coats)

HASTA QUE NOS VEAMOS...until we meet again...

Kirsten Reinking 222-5466

Email: ifc@pvmexico.com

Last June we received a large box of art supplies generously donated by our member De’Lynne Lehman. Richard Dobbeck willingly trekked out to Nayarit to deliver the supplies in the care of Pedro Marina Merlo from Escuela Secundaria Tecnica No. 52. About one week after delivery I received a visit from Pedro Marina who graciously thanked us for the art supplies and presented us with a beautiful painting from one of his art students, an 11 year old boy who wishes to remain anonymous. The painting is nicely framed and I have temporarily hung it on the clubhouse bulletin board for all to see. I spent some time visiting with Pedro Marina that day as he explained the story and meaning behind the painting he gave to us. He told me that it was painted by a troubled 11 year old boy who was failing in school who was referred to Pedro by the boy’s professor. Pedro explained to me that this boy was often beat by his father who had a problem with marijuana. Pedro showed this boy how to paint with crayons, water colors and something called “tinta china.” After just one week of instruction, Pedro said that this boy showed an immense talent for art and he explained to Pedro how totally immersed he got in the process of painting and how, through painting, he was able to find an escape from his troubled home life. Pedro continued to tell to me that the boy’s father was so impressed with his son’s newfound abilities that he discovered a new appreciation for him, and according to Pedro, this has inspired him to become a better father and to stop smoking so much.

The painting that Pedro gave to us, painted by this boy, depicts an ancient Mexican city with a man-made canal system, two pyramids and towering mountains in the background. The boy painted a protective dome-like bubble over the ancient city, a brilliant colorful sky, and two suspended planets. The boy told Pedro that when he is painting, he feels like he in on another planet and he is able to escape temporarily the troubles in his life. In this particular painting, he explained that he depicted a city where man lives in harmony with nature, where the water that flows through the man-man canal system is always clean and pure, and that this is a place of peace and happiness.

I share this inspiring story as it truly moved me during one of my first weeks working at the IFC. It was such wonderful feedback from Pedro Marina, a dedicated art teacher in a poor remote area of Nayarit, to whom our donation of supplies from De’Lynne Lehman will facilitate his success with more students in the future.

The second item I would like to share with you was our visit with Vicky Knaub and Cindy Becker, two kind-hearted school teachers from Wisconsin. This visit was proceeded with correspondence that I received from Vicky last May. She’d taken our home tour during a recent visit to Vallarta, was impressed with our organization and came home with a strong desire to help out. She was particularly interested in helping orphan children and asked for suggestions regarding supplies that she could bring down this summer.  Gale Hankel suggested that