By Lola

Home again, keeping to myself just in case I brought along a little snout-nosed visitor with me. I feel just fine, so I think I’m OK, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. Especially since we hit four airports in one day on the way back. Masks were on and we were very liberal with the Purell, but still…. I’m waiting out the incubation period.

But like I said, I’m fine. What’s not fine is Mexico. It’s reeling, it’s bloodied, it’s battered. And my heart aches for the country and for everyone in it trying to make a living. Millions of dollars are being lost each and every day. From the man selling fresh fruit with chile on a street corner to the suavest hotelier, they’re all hurting.

My mother and her side of the family live there, so the pinch is being felt quite close. Some are in Mexico City, and they’re all staying home, trying to keep safe.

Flu kills over 30,000 people in the U.S. every year. Does that receive as much headline news as this? Precautions, yes. Panic, no. And all the news I’m hearing has a distinct edge of hysteria to it.

Just my opinion.

In all this, we neglected to mention what an amazing ceremony we had on Monday morning during the Mazatlán breakfast in Acapulco. It was the day we’d been looking forward to since we announced the Nick Gallo Award at last year’s Tianguis.

I’ll let Lisa give you her take on it, since she was the presenter. Just warning you: there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Alex Gallo stood up, said some words and read a letter sent in by his mom, Laurie. His Dad would’ve been beyond proud. He is a very special young man, this son of “El Gallo más Gallo”… It was an honor to meet him.