Todo el Mundo es una Escenario...

If my neighborhood, Realejo, were fiction it would be located somewhere in between Sesame Street and Avenue Q. Its inhabitants range from families in big gorgeous homes to illegal immigrants overcrowded into one squished apartment (such as the building across our street). One of the main streets is called Calle Molinos, and very rarely can a person walk down it without bumping into someone they know, as well as waving at the local grocer and bar owners. At one corner of this street is All Time Café/Bar, which is where I come almost daily to sip coffee (or wine) and write.
Similar to both Sesame Street and Avenue Q, there is a cast of very interesting characters. I would like to highlight two of them for you: Georgie and Mr.PickerUpper.
Georgie can usually be found in a small plaza near a park and the SuperSol (groceries). He is so much of a dead ringer for George Clooney (in ten years or so, if things don’t go well for him) that the first time I saw him I think I gasped and squealed “GEORGE!!!!” Since then, he has gone out of his way to cross to the other side of the street when he sees me coming, but I still beam at him. Some days George feels fancy, and will sport outfits that would spin the head of any costume designer. One of these was big bright peach pants, no shoes, and a fantastic dark floral green “shirt”.
Mr.PickerUpper hangs out at one of the busier plazas, a curved intersection with one of the only stretches of two-way traffic on this side of town. He stands and scans the streets, searching emphatically for… something. Every once in a while he sees whatever he’s looking for and rushes (as best he can) into the street, oncoming traffic be damned, to pick it up. It takes him the better part of thirty seconds to lean down, grab the thing and then stretch back up, but before he will return to the safety of the sidewalk he always takes the time to hold his find up and admire it with pride. The interesting thing is, however, that his hands are empty. His thumb and forefinger looks as if there would be something the size of a penny, but there is never anything there. I won’t tell him if you won’t!

And then of course smack in the middle of everything we have Melrose, tucked away on an almost hidden street. Besides the usual cast, there are often guest-stars present on set. Last night, for example, some friends of the guys came over and we had another cookout on the roof- this time with Tex Mex!! One of the guys had just received a present from a friend who traveled to Texas with great spicy seasonings and recipes, and he was excited to try it out. So imagine my surprise when I climb up to the roof to find them making spicy Texas Fajitas!! The meal tasted fantastic- just like home. We also had SarahBrown-style Margaritas, crushed ice, silver tequila, a little lime and sugar. Fantastic. Just another evening at Melrose!!

SABES QUE…
The flattened shape of pints of whiskey were created to fit into the boots of cowboys. Locals made and sold their own whiskey and sold it to the farmhands and cowhands in the old west.  Hence the name bootleg whiskey.

-William Oberrender  Mental Floss May 13,2009