UN-MEXICAN ACTIVITIES ―PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 34, Issue 872, 20 April 1956, Page 26

UN-MEXICAN ACTIVITIES ―PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

| EXICANS can usually take effici- & ency or leave it alone: they don’t seem to write books about it and their mural decorations don’t include efficiency slogans. Even amongst officials there are only two classes who aspire toward that sort of efficiency, .common further north, which intrudes on other peoples’ lives and makes an infernal nuisance of itself through being con--scientious about regulations. These classes are the newly appointed official and the official who has just had a rap over the knuckles from his boss. They may do some fiendish things while the seizure grips them, but they usually recover quite quickly. Those of us who stayed a year or so at La Rosa usually encountered at least one- example of this frenzy, but Andy Grouse, the upholsterer from New Hampshire, had a brisker few minutes than the average. Andy was usually known as Big Andy, to distinguish him from Little Andy, a young and highly nervous’ Florida cracker who was practically illiterate, hadpacifist principles, and collected guns, when he had the money. He was as tall as Big Andy, but carried less authority and spoke softly, except for an occasional tantrum. Big Andy seldom spoke softly and when he laughed at meal times, which was often, the lid of the soup tureen rattled. He was unusual for an American, in that he was neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but a member of the American Labour Party, an unheard of minority group which has existed for a long time in a few back rooms in the New: England States. The members read widely and argue busily and know far more about economic conditions than the members of Congress do, but as Big Andy used to remark, with a colossal bellow of laughter: "Congressmen get elected and A.L.P. members never seem to get to be Congressmen." They never even got sub-poenaed by McCarthy’s merry men, which was a pity, in a way. One thing that always gave McCarthy trouble was a crisp, logical argument. Andy was good at his trade. He said he’d even upholstered a piano for an eccentric old lady in Maine. He made a good living. and

liked to play drums at local dances, except for polkas which he just had to dance, but his home | life wasn’t happy. As his children grew up_ his | wife went back to her old iob of nursing in a mental hospital, and sometimes was only home at weekends. Andy racked his tools into ‘his chunky station wagon . and came south. He had enough capital to buy ) land and he spent a lot |of time exploring | Southern California looking for a place to settle. On one of these trips he set off from La Rosa with three passengers, all men, to cross the border at Mexicali, 85° miles east and make his way from Calexico and El

Centro, west through the desert country again. He liked the desert, and thought he might one day find a desert place with a good well. However, this time he was back at La Rosa by mid-afternoon, bellowing raucously. They’d been stopped at a place called Rumarosa, just before the toad dives down into the Mexicali Valley, by three privates, a general, and something that seemed to be a Red Cross nurse (Mexican style). "Never again!" Andy bellowed, taking off his shirt and gesticulating at his upper arm, "not another cent does the Red Cross get out of me. Do you know what the so and so’s did. . .?" It was an uproarious story. Not much English was spoken on the Mexican side, and no Spanish from the American vehicle, but it was easy for Andy and his passengers to see that they had to get out. The three privates presented their bayonets and the general opened the car door and put his hand on his gun butt. So they got out, and the Red Cross woman, who seems to have been the frenzied official in this case, advanced on them with a hypodermic needle. Andy dodged round the general, but was brought up short by a bayonet, and had to talk fast to avoid being stabbed twice. When they had been shot full of whatever vaccine it was, they were told that all Americans approaching Mexicali were being treated so. It was necessary for their fhealth. Andy had strong views about vaccination, and did his best to suck out whatever had been shot in. The Mexicans got back into their army jeep, saluted politely, and drove off toward Mexicali, taking no notice of any of the other cars in the vicinity. "I guess they'd done their day’s work," Andy said. "Probably only had one lot of vaccine, and we struck it." The frenzy was over, very likely, and the Red Cross had saved the region from a disastrous epidemic of Americans.

G. leF.

Y.