I just returned from a lovely trip [View all]
to the Baja, Mexico, where my wonderful granddaughter was married on the beach at a perfect resort near La Paz. We were treated well by all Mexicans we met, they all seemed pleased to have us there and went out of their way to make sure we had a pleasant week. We were driving back to Cabo San Lucas airport from the resort when a tire on our rental van went flat. We were lucky to find a well lighted place where a Mexican family volunteered to help us communicate with the rental agency, find the right tools, and put on the tire we finally got from the agency. This family had two children and were on their way to the big Festival in town. They would not take any money and we felt we had made some new friends.
The next day we were in the airport ready to fly to Denver when a large number of young men wearing all sorts of Colorado caps and shirts came into the open restaurant, took up at least six tables and began to shout to each other about their "spring break" in Cabo, the fun they'd had though they couldn't remember most of it, and how many hotels they'd been thrown out of. To a man they were crude, loud, vulgar and rude to the waitpersons. And drunk at 10 am. I wanted to make a sign in Spanish "These guys are not from Colorado". I have no idea if they were CU, CSU or students at all (spring break does not start till this week). I know so many great young people in CO, ones who go to poor countries and sacrifice to make this a better world, that I was saddened our Mexican neighbors have to deal with ugly Americans and Coloradans because of the money we bring. Cabo went through a terrible hurricane last year, so many homes and schools were destroyed and have not been restored, just think what those young men and their money could have done in a week.