The Simple Life

He’s eighty seven years old, and still lives on his own in the ranchito. A little house, as rustic as can be, in the middle of the desert in a small pueblo called San Pedro, just outside Hermosillo. Surrounded by Aloe and Pitaya cactus plants, the beautiful breeze carried along sand in the air, just as you would see in an old western movie.

We were invited to his place by one of our good friends, a devoted son who makes the effort to visit his father every weekend to make sure he’s ok and living well. We packed up our clan and made our way over, with a quick stop to the nearest OXXO to buy him a bottle of Tequila, as a token of our appreciation. As we pulled up to the ranch, we were greeted by a rusted gate that was hard to open and soaring palm trees surrounding it. As old and worn down as it looked, it felt quaint, peaceful and hidden from all the ruckus of the city.



There were plenty of people there, all family, sitting on chairs that looked about a hundred years old, laughing and talking and enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
And then there he was, the grand old man who was the center of all the action and the reason for these Sunday gatherings. He was sitting on his chair, legs crossed. A cigarette in one hand and a glass of Tequila in the other, his face was more wrinkled than I could ever count and his facial hair was as gray as they come.

He smiled at us and with a warm welcome, offered cerveza and invited us to try some of the food that was on the table. There was a large bowl with rice and next to it was the smoked fish. The flies were feasting on the table and bugs were all over the place, the dust was visually blowing in the air, but it still felt great to be there, and somehow, I didn’t mind any of it.

We were having a fantastic time. And so was Cristian, of course. How could he not when there was a horse just a few feet away from him? The man had a horse that was over twenty years old. Oddly enough, he too looked old and tired - yet happy, just like his proud owner…living on the ranch.


Kids were running around and paying such special attention to Cristian. The boys were all about 10 years old and were pleased to have Cristian with them. They played with the ball, pushed him around in a beaten up plastic car and ate ice cream off a truck that I would never even consider purchasing from, if it were in the city.


Mia was also happy. She was sitting in her chair and taking in everything that was going on around her. The sound of laughter. The warm breeze on her skin. The sun’s rays shining to the ground through the branches of the giant trees surrounding us. It was special.

After several hours, we decided it was time to leave. We packed up the car and off we went. Our drive home was as serene and as peaceful as our day at the ranchito.

It just goes to show...all the money in the world can’t buy the uncomplicated pleasures of living a simple life…