

This is a map of Chiapas, Mexico. San Cristobal de las Casas was the nearest town to the Mission Compound where we lived from 1968-1973. This vintage photo is very reminiscent of what the local life looked like back then.

Our compound was a bit more "modern"--we had an electric generator that ran for 3 hours in the mornings and 3 hours after dark....unless it broke down or the compound ran out of propane or gasoline during rainy season (May through October). So we learned to live without many of the things we take for granted in the United States.
We had very little entertainment. VERY LITTLE....
I read books--lots of books. We went to church--lots of church. And I had my butterfly collection...
In the bedroom that I shared with my little sister, we had a set of bunk beds, two dressers, a closet, and a bookcase that we shared. I had a growing stack of flat boxes that held my butterfly collection, in all its wonder and glory...I had these boxes stacked on the highest shelf of the bookcase, to keep them from being knocked off or from small people getting into them...
One day, I heard some unusual noises coming from our bedroom. Imagine my utter and total dismay, when, upon opening the door, I cam upon my sisters STUPID CAT!!! up on the top shelf of our bookcase knocking down my boxes of perfectly dried, pressed, and preserved butterflies, and EATING THEM!! I was so immediately horrified and livid, I grabbed that STUPID CAT!!! and threw it will all my might--out the bedroom window. Fortunately for the cat, the window was open (I honestly had not even looked or cared!)
And so ended my career as a Butterfly Collector....and my long-time dislike of cats.
It wasn't until the next year, during a vacation on the Yucatan Peninsula, that I started collecting something new... Sea Shells! But that is another story...
😱🤬😠I'm so sorry!