First – let me thank you for the complement on the news column. I never know where it is going because the most amazing stories about Mexico and Yucatan come to me each day from all over the world!

And second – I am so sorry that the ATMs near the border in Juarez might not be safe. I cross at the new bridge at the end of the Interstate in Matamoros – make a left between the shopping center and the H-E-B grocery store… hang a left into the shopping center parking lot… and waltz right into a quite safe BANAMEX. Easy as pie and as safe as it gets anywhere on Earth!

Is your roof white? http://tinyurl.com/lahyr6

There are two colors of roof coatings in general use in Yucatan. One is a terra cotta color and the other is white. They are applied like paint, except that a membrane is often used as well, between applications of the same roof coating (which is similar to a thick paint).

http://tinyurl.com/n8dme2

Using the white one not only cools your rooms a little, it is good for the whole planet. You’ve got to coat your roof anyway — do it in white!

As far as the flu, here’s a little map update for you all — Guess what? It is everywhere in the world! So, no need to put off travel to Mexico. There’s just as much right where you live….: http://images2.dailykos.com/images/user/426/WHOsnapshot_610.gif

As a Ciudad Juárez resident, however, I would not encourage American and Candadian visitors to use border ATM machines, and to be extremely careful in using them throughout Mexico.