Monday, November 7, 2005

THANK YOU!!!

I am honored and surprised!!! Pleasantly surprised! Thank you all so much for voting me into the Vivi awards. It is such an honor to win considering the competition. I was in a category with some great journals!

I have been wracking my brain for a way to follow up all those entries about Cancun. It is impossible.  I did learn quite a bit during the ordeal/adventure.

Number one, you never know what you can do until you have to do it. Looking back on it I just shake my head. I would have have a hissy fit if I had to sleep on that hard floor one more night at the second shelter. But I would have done it, had no choice.

Secondly, we must take care of each other. We must look out for each other.

Third, there are a lot of ugly Americans out there and it shames me.

The most important lesson I learned was about the people who live in Mexico. The Mexican people, the locals, were there greatest. When I first arrived in Mexico I was hesitant to leave the Hotel District because I did not know what I would find. I had some crazy idea of what I thought Mexico was like. What I found is that they are very kind. The locals around the second shelter were very poor. Yet what little they had, they offered to us. And wanted nothing in return. They took care of us.

I felt like I was in a movie. That everything was a trifle surreal and happening to someone else. It felt akin to an out of body experience.

Thank you all once again. Now somebody please help me get my award into my side bar!!!!

(please forgive me, no spell check)

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

congrats on the award!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Well deserved!!!!
Betty

Anonymous said...

Congratuations -- well deserved!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your award!  I'll Email you with some help on the sidebar.
Sam

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Mary.  It sounds like those are some wonderful lessons.

Anonymous said...

I was so happy when your award was announced!  It was definitely well-deserved, despite the other good journals in your category.  Now, don't get in any more natural disasters just to top yourself, y'hear? ;) - Karen
http://journals.mavarin.com/MusingsfromMavarin/

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Mary.  You deserve the Vivi recognition.

Deep lessons from Cancun.  I learned much just by reading.  I imagine you'll be processing more each day.

Sidebar help:  
right-click on the image and save onto your computer.
[Make sure the dimensions of the image are no larger than 134 pixels wide.]
go to your hometown file manager: http://hometown.aol.com/_fm
click "add new files"
click "browse"
find the award where you saved it
click OK
click SAVE
then click the link to the name of the file in your file manager
COPY the link

Open your About Me section to edit
add the photo the way you would in your entries (camera icon, paste photo link, save)

Email if you want more help!  :D
xo

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your award

Anonymous said...

Congrats!
xoxo

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Mary....well deserved!  Your lessons are such wonderful ones. Anne

Anonymous said...

Hey Mary!  This is great!  (Your award, AND the "lessons" from your trip!)  I'm especially impressed with the kindness of the local Mexican people.  We here in the States often have weird ideas in our heads of what "poor" people are like.  These people aren't poor.  They just don't have any money.

Congrats again.  Lisa  :-]  

Anonymous said...

I like your screen name... by the thinnest of margins.

"Betawoman" sounds like something you'd hear when asking Ike Turner how he spent his afternoon.

Anonymous said...

Do you know how to upload to FTP space? You do that and then click on the picture icon in your sidebar. Then you put in the code to the file in your FTP space. Email me if you need more infor. CONGRATULATIONS!

Anonymous said...

Congrats and welcome back home.  Okay, I know you've been back for awhile as I've been reading your story.  Wish I could disagree with your comment about Ugly Americans, but sadly I can't.  Makes it a bigger challenge for the rest of us to counter balance negative opinions, doesn't it?

Dona
journals.aol.com/delela1/BlueSkiesandGentleBreezes

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!  Your journal has entertained me wonderfully I would have voted you the winner in ALL the categories if I had had the choice.  Pennie

Anonymous said...

After that hellacious trip I have just one question...
RE: Picture taken in St. Louis

HOW did you remain looking so classical chic?

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!  I haven't kept up with your blog for a while and wow the surprise I had when I found you had been to Cancun--I am so happy you are back and safe--really missed reading your blog, but there have been some health issues and other issues regarding friends and family going on so this has been a long time in coming--I will try to keep up with this and read all the old blogs to catch up when I have time--I have been contemplating a trip to Florida but that now may not happen until Spring sometime--like March or April, 2006.  Hope your new job is still going well--and again Congrats!!  I'll write again soon as soon as figure how what's been happening--later--

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your award! Well deserved. As for Cancun. What an experience! I went down and read through all your entries to catch up. I can only imagine the suitcase full of wisdom, thoughts, experience that you brought home from such a trip. I'd say, thats worth it.
Rebecca

Anonymous said...

I so enjoyed your story of six days in Cancun!  I'm glad ya'll were ok.  Great story.  

Derek

Anonymous said...

    You had me glued to my screen with your adventure. I'm thankful everyone is okay. Now how close were you to that tornado the other day?"
Jude
http://journals.aol.com/Jmorancoyle/MyWay

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. I'm out of the loop and just stopped by and saw you won! Hurray!

Anonymous said...

Hey Congrats on the award...it's well deserved. And thanks for the great story on Cancun--it was terrific.

GVP
www.centerg.com

Anonymous said...

Being the very last to know anything, as usual, I only recently heard about your Vivi Award. Congratulations, Mary! You deserve it!        Jon

Anonymous said...

Wow!  I finally had a chance to catch up with you and finish this incredible tale.  

Amazing story, Mary, and wonderfully told ~ vivid detail, personal insight and telling photos.  You've had quite an adventure!  This story should really be published.

And MAJOR congrats on winning the award!  You so deserve it.  You are my favorite travel writer.  Even when you just stay home, you take me places I want to go.

So, where are we going next? ...... :)

Anonymous said...

Mary!  I'm finally getting to read this story weeks after the fact... and it is now 2.40 a.m. because I've been up all night reading it!  It's just like when you can't put a book down... you wrote this so beautifully.