Remember that 1980 movie, The Shining, with Jack Nicholson?
We we were driving the Veracruz coast to get from Papantla to Veracruz City and, because of time constraints, we found ourselves arriving in Tecolutla and, the next day, in Chachalacas Beach and,, since it was becoming dark and approaching 8:00PM in both ratty beach towns with the prospect that all the beachside restaurants and cheesy eateries would be shortly closing, we decided in each place to stay in large, all-inclusive beach resorts which, because it was mid-week and there was so much violence being reported from Veracruz State as a result of the narco wars, both places were totally empty except for us.
So, there we were in these totally deserted hotels walking on these totally deserted beaches and, because it was too late to seek out a beach palapa for cena, eating in these cavernous dining halls that were completely empty except for us as well seemed a good idea just because the towns were absolutely shut down by 8:00PM. The food was lousy in both places on a Wednesday and Thursday but edible and the atmosphere was a bit spooky. We were sitting there in these huge, empty dining rooms expecting Clark Gable, Ernest Hemingway and Marilyn Monroe to walk in at any time maybe with Jack Nicholson in tow and a ghostly band to strike up a fox trot to go with our Manhattans.
We got back to our room and read on the c omputer that they had found another 35 bodies scattered about Metro Veracruz and the total body count had reached close to 100 and it all seemed appropriate.
"They´re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha! Ha!,
They´re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha! Ha!, Hee! Hee! Ho! Ho!
To The Funny Farm,
With Those Nice Young Men in their Clean White Coats,
Where everyone´s happy There All The time.
..............."
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