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Montemorelos, Mexico

Steven Crank
One of his most interesting inventions: a movie theater, he completed when he was a mere fifteen years of age. I am in absolute awe as I listen to this highly intelligent man describe to us howa he made his own personnel cinema with the aid of trash and the sunlight. By using many different parts that he has found, he set up a system in which the sunlight reflects off a mirror, which in turn reflects light through the projector and onto the screen. I can’t even remember the things I was doing at age fifteen, but I know it was nothing like inventing my own theatre.  Another invention that I find very interesting is his clock tower, which includes three separate types of clocks, one being manual, and the other two solar powered. The bottom-viewing box is the most interesting. It is a globe attached to a system that can tell you the date and time all the way on the other side of the world with only the aid of the sun. The only word I can think to describe it is astounding. And these aren’t the only inventions he has. We follow him into a huge observatory and planetarium. The professor has his very on seismograph that he made himself! He has records from many of the most disastrous earthquakes in the world. Inside the viewing area of the planetarium, we sare shown video on the operation of the seismograph that he made from more trash. Also in the planetarium, he fills the dome with light by turning on the stars. Although I cannot understand the explanation of the constellations, I can still find his intelligence amazing.

I feel a special honor as he invites us into part of his home to view his collection of old projectors that he made out of spare parts as well as a vellera, which is an old style record player. The entire experience while at the professor’s house is great, and I feel extremely grateful to have met a man of so much knowledge.

The rows of tortillas slide down into the two receiver containers where the women workers are constantly busy. The pace is very hectic. Several tortillas are dropped to the floor as they shake and flip the hand full of tortillas to get rid of the folded and loose ones, but no one seems to mind.  The two women, after being satisfied with the hand-full of fresh tortillas, weigh them to obtain the price, and place them into plastic bags, handing the finished product to the many customers that are eagerly waiting in line to purchase the fresh, hot tortillas.

The owner’s daughter hands me a tortilla she has just grabbed out of the oven. As I stand here eating this hot fresh tortilla (unlike anything I have ever tasted before), it suddenly hits me that I will probably never get this opportunity again and I feel honored to have entered this surreal realm.