September 27, 2010 

..the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit

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Meghan Sullivan — GlobalPost
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September 27, 2010

 

The majority of illegal immigrants in Mexico come not from Central America, but from the US.

Guadalajara, Mexico — It may be the dream of some college seniors to spend a year post-graduation working “under the table” serving pints in some glorious European city. But thousands of American adults living on the lam in Mexico?

As in the United States, estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in Mexico are hard to come by. But the majority are ex-pats from the U.S., according to Mexico’s federal bureau of immigration.

Many undocumented Americans arrive not knowing how long they’ll stay, don’t get the appropriate papers and end up in the country illegally, said Mexican immigration agent Beatrice Amparo Perez Alatorre.

With all of the discussion about Arizona’s controversial immigration law — and illegal immigration in the U.S. in general — many people have countered that Mexico should take a look at its own immigration laws and problems.

Critics allege that thousands of migrants from Central American countries enter Mexico illegally and are mistreated along the way, with offenses ranging from illegal requests for documents to extortion and rape. They charge that Mexican migrants are subject to abuses that mirror — or are far worse — than the treatment immigrants receive in the United States.

Human rights reports have shown that abuse of migrants, many in transit to the U.S., is, in fact, a problem in Mexico. And Perez admitted that despite the law, “I think it happens.”

But what the reports don’t address is that these travelers dealing with abuses are a small number of the total illegal immigrant population in Mexico. Experts suggest the percentages by home country may mirror those of legal foreign-born residents. Some 70 percent of legal foreign-born Mexicans come from the U.S. The next largest number, about 5 percent, hail from Guatemala.

Pieces in U.S. media from the Washington Times to the Concord Monitor have inaccurately claimed that Mexico’s policy is to jail and deport those found to be illegally in the country.

But rather than deporting people who don’t have authorization to be in the country, there is a process for “regularizing” these immigrants. According the law, said Perez, illegal immigrants are “never” arrested and sent to jail unless they have committed a crime in Mexico or in their home countries.

Once foreigners have been living in Mexico legally for five years, they can become citizens.

Many Americans, like Barbara Rudd, find Mexico appealing as a retirement option, with its warm climate, rich culinary tradition and affordable property. A smaller number come for work or vacation and decide to stick around. And still others fall in love and eventually end up marrying and remaining in the country.

Rudd, 62, has been living in Mexico for more than five years. She and her husband retired to the Lake Chapala region outside of Guadalajara and bought a house in the town of Jocotopec. And while, she says, she doesn’t want to renounce her American citizenship, she does want to stay in Mexico for her remaining days.

On this particular day at the immigration office, she is upgrading her status to official “immigrant” after the five-year waiting period.

“I come and go and do what I want,” Rudd said. “It’s so easy to own property. Compared to the U.S., it’s a breeze.”

Though Rudd says she has gone through the process legally, those who are in the country illegally and later decide they want to become citizens have little to fear.

If it is discovered someone is living in the country without the appropriate documents, as long as they have not committed a crime they are required to pay a fine and then can begin the process of regularization to get on track to citizenship.

“To be undocumented in Mexico is not a criminal offense,” said Jorge Durand, a professor of the study of social movement at the University of Guadalajara and author of more than a dozen books on Mexican migration.

According to Mexico’s immigration law, illegal entry into Mexico, violating terms of a visa or trying to get back into the country after being deported could result in a fine equivalent to 20 to 100 days of minimum wage in Mexico — or between $83.60 and $441.00. (As of January 2010, there were three different minimum wages, the equivalent of $4.41, $4.29 or $4.18 a day depending on place of residence.)

The one violation that may carry a prison sentence is aiding in the transport of illegal immigrants into Mexico. This could result in 12 years in jail and a hefty fine of 10,000 days of minimum wage pay — $41,800 to $44,100.

But, generally, those in the country illegally are fined, told to make their status legal and sent on their way.

“Right now, our goal is to make it easier for foreigners to come here,” Perez said.

Mexico Road Safety

Dorothy and Bill Bell have lectured about Mexico Road and RV travel in colleges, RV Shows and private seminars throughout Western Canada and the US. They have travelled to all 31 states over a dozen times and are considered experts on road travel in this amazing country. Visit www.ontheroadin.com to view photos and articles about Mexico.

American and Canadian snow birds are making up their minds on whether or not to drive by car or recreational vehicle to their place in the Mexican sun. However, recent travel warnings by both the Canadian and American governments along with negative media reports  has generated a tremendous interest and concern over  travel safety issues in Mexico.  

Response to our first report on Road Safety in Mexico over whelmed us.  It generated over a thousand enquiries and requests for more detailed information on road safety in Mexico.  The following is our best assessment and contains answers to many of the questions that have been posed to us.

To read the entire story click here

Headline News

Matthew Continues Drenches Southern Mexico

Storm Expected To Continue Weakening

 Tropical Depression Matthew, the 13th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, is drenching southeastern Mexico. Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami say Matthew has maximum sustained winds of about 30 mph, and is expected to continue losing strength…..go to original article

Mexican police arrest suspected drug lord Soto Reyes

Mexican police have arrested Margarito Soto Reyes, believed to be one of the leading members of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, the government says.

Soto Reyes, also known as "The Tiger", was detained with eight accomplices near the western city of Guadalajara, the Ministry of Public Security said….go to original article

Why Mexico is not the new Colombia when it comes to drug cartels

Comparisons took on a new urgency after a statement by Hillary Clinton, but a careful look at tactics, targets and the nature of the foe shows they're apples and oranges. …go to original article

Medical tourism: Deal-seekers flock to Mexico for health care

What did you bring back from your last trip to Mexico? A blanket from Oaxaca? Criollo chocolate from Chiapas? Leather boots from Valladolid? A growing number of U.S. visitors are coming home with a new hip, a repaired hernia, capped teeth, a lap band or a rejuvenated face.

Henry Parecki might best be described as a peripatetic entrepreneur. After opening his first deli in San Francisco, his hometown, he started businesses in Marin — Henry's Burger Shop is still in business in Novato — before moving to Portland, Ore. He eventually landed in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he runs his ninth enterprise, a wholesale bicycle parts business. ..go to original article

Volkswagen builds new engine plant in Mexico

Volkswagen AG will invest $550 million in developing a new engine facility in Mexico to supply parts to two of its North American plants, the German automaker said on Wednesday….go to original article

Calderon's Party Says Mexico Sales Tax Cut May Threaten Rating

A top lawmaker from Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s party said a proposal to lower the sales tax would jeopardize the country’s credit rating.

Carlos Perez, the deputy coordinator for the National Action Party in the lower house of Congress, said the proposal by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, the largest party in the chamber, would send a negative signal to investors….go to original article

 Violence tests Mexican journalists' endurance

Mexican President Felipe Calderón, by all rights, should be spending his six years in office creating jobs to keep Mexicans in Mexico and building a stronger democracy. Halfway through his term, he finds himself fighting to keep democracy alive.

Calderón took office just as the country's drug cartels reached the apex of their power, and the new president found himself declaring war, one that seemingly has no end…go to original article

Mexico bicentennial seen as salute to endurance

The movie that Mexican director Luis Estrada is putting out for his country's bicentennial is bluntly named "Hell."

Like many Mexicans, Estrada says there is little to celebrate in Mexico today, with its violence, corruption and inequity. Yet in another way, the harshly critical movie shows how far the country has come - it was made with government funding, and nobody tried to censor it.

"I think this should be seen as enormous progress," Estrada says…go to original article

Karl Kills 2, Storm Remnants Drench Mexico

Authorities in central Mexico were on alert early Saturday for possible mudslides and flooding as the remnants of Hurricane Karl pushed inland hours after the storm swept onto the Gulf coast and killed two people.

Out in the Atlantic, meanwhile, Hurricane Igor strengthened into a Category 2 storm and became better organized on a track to approach Bermuda late Sunday…go to original article

ATF forms teams to combat gun smuggling to Mexico

A federal agency trying to stop guns from being smuggled from the United States into Mexico for use by drug cartels has formed teams in seven American cities to combat the problem.

The teams set up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are a follow-up to earlier temporary groups of investigators who worked in Houston and Arizona and seized about 2,000 guns….go to original article

Ga. Among ATF’s Top Gun Smuggling Hubs For Mexico

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials say metro Atlanta has turned into a hub for gun smuggling to Mexico, mainly to supply drug cartels there.

“Georgia is a source state for both guns going to other states in the U.S., but also down to Mexico,” said ATF acting director Kenneth Melson. “It's probably, with respect to Mexico, in the top 10, but probably 8, 9 or 10.”….go to original article

Why Many Expats Have Chosen To Live In Mérida, Mexico

Located a short one hour flight away from Cancun, Merida offers all the modern day conveniences of a large city with the rich history and culture of colonial Mexico . Just another hour’s flight away (or two hours by car) is the beautiful historic city of Campeche , located on the Gulf Coast region of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, offering expats a quiet, peaceful coastal lifestyle. ….go to original article

How to Retire Part-Time In Paradise

The snowbird approach to retirement isn't new. Retirees from upstate New York and the Dakotas have been migrating south for the winter for decades. The difference today is that they're migrating farther south. Mexico, for example, has become an established choice among Americans looking to escape winter back home by spending that season in far sunnier climates.…..go to original article

Bill: US out of "United States of Mexico"

President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party has revived a proposal to change the country's formal name, which is now "The United States of Mexico."

In casual use, few people use the title adopted in 1824.

And that's the point. According to the Senate proposal, "when nobody, not even us, uses the name 'The United States of Mexico,' conserving it appears to be little more than an imitation of our neighbor." …go to original article

Mexico ups security amid concerns that cartels could attack bicentennial celebrations

Mexico's capital will stage its grand bicentennial celebration Wednesday with military helicopters buzzing overhead, heavily armed federal agents and metal detectors. In some cities, the traditional festivities highlighted by shouts of "Viva Mexico!" won't happen at all because of fears of what the drug cartels might do….go to original article

5.0 Quake Rattles Arizona-Mexico Border

A magnitude-5.0 earthquake shook a rural area near the border of Arizona and Mexico.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 3:52 a.m. Tuesday quake was centered 42 miles southwest of San Luis, a Yuma County border town in southwest Arizona. The preliminary 5.4-magnitude shaker was revised to 5.0.

San Luis police dispatcher Elias Gonzalez said he felt the quake and described it as a brief jolt. He says a few residents telephoned to report the quake, which also set off some burglar alarms. There are no reports of damage or injury.

Border Patrol agents fire into Mexico during bust

The U.S. Border Patrol says agents fired gunshots into Mexico after coming under attack while making a drug bust along the Rio Grande. Border Patrol spokeswoman Rosalinda Huey said Monday that no agents were injured during a "fire fight" in Mission over the weekend. She did not say whether anyone in Mexico was hit by Border Patrol gunfire, citing the ongoing investigation.

Huey said Border Patrol agents were seizing a half-ton of marijuana Saturday when the shootout began. She said a truck pulled up on the Mexico side of the border when someone opened fire on the agents.In June, a Border Patrol agent fatally shot a 15-year-old Mexican boy after authorities say a group trying to illegally enter Texas threw rocks at officers near downtown El Paso

Weary of drug war, Mexico weighs legalization

The debate will only grow more fevered if California residents back a proposal to make pot legal there. A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs -- once a taboo suggestion -- is percolating in Mexico, a nation exhausted by runaway violence and a deadly drug war. The debate is only likely to grow more animated if Californians approve an initiative on Nov. 2 to legalize marijuana for recreational use in their state….go to original article

Mexico's golf and surf paradise

"If the tide pushes up, punch it," said my seafaring golf guide, Arturo Castro, one early July day in Punta Mita. The statement could've just as easily been uttered a few miles down the coast at Castro's favorite surf spot, La Lancha, while helping this visiting surfista negotiate the unfamiliar elements. But at this moment the head pro was speaking of my golf cart, which was straddling an 8-foot wide cobblestone isthmus leading to the green of hole 3B at Punta Mita's Pacifico course — known as the world's only island green carved from natural topography….go to original article

Car Loaded With Explosives Disabled In Mexico

Mexican police used a controlled explosion early on Saturday to eliminate the threat from a car packed with explosives in this violent city near the border with the United States, local officials said. Local police responding to a call late on Friday that a person had been executed in an industrial sector of Ciudad Juarez discovered a car full of explosives near the body, federal police said in a statement. ….go to original article

U.S. Backs $1B Loan to Mexico for Oil Drilling Despite Obama Moratorium

Despite President Obama's moratorium on U.S. deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Export-Import Bank intends to guarantee $1 billion in loans to PEMEX, the Mexican state oil company, to bolster the company's oil drilling in the region.

The bank, which is the official American export credit agency, loaned more than $1 billion to PEMEX in 2009 -- when the company was the bank's largest borrower -- in support of its drilling activities. That year, the bank also guaranteed two loans totaling $300 million made by a commercial lender….go to original article

U.S. weapons fuel drug violence, Mexico's president says

As Mexico approaches its bicentennial, Mexico's president says his country is fighting significant security problems -- many of which are fueled by U.S. policies.

"We live next to the world's largest drug consumer, and all the world wants to sell them drugs through our door and our window. And we live next to the world's largest arms seller, which is supplying the criminals," Mexican President Felipe Calderon told CNN en Español Friday…..go to original article

Views from My Tropical Garden    ©Tara A. Spears

Warm climate gardening tips

As we are in the height of the tropical rainy season, the garden is soggy- note the standing water around the plants, left.  Alas, it is too much of a good thing, and in my garden, several species of plants have drowned in the daily heavy rains. Usually I take cuttings from plants that I know won’t survive the wet season and place them out of direct rainfall, but this year I was too busy with other things.  I’ll be at the nursery buying replacement plants come mid October.  Until then I have bare spots in the landscape and rotted plants in pots. On the other hand, the hot night loving tropic vines- allamanda, bleeding heart, and mandevilla-  are proliferating.  Besides having adapted to the distinct moisture extremes of the wet/dry seasons, these lovely flowering plants bloom all year long, are salt tolerant, and are favorites of hummingbirds and butterflies.  With all these perks, tropic vines are perfect for Riviera Nayarit gardens as they do well in containers or in the ground.... go to page 4 Home and Living

 

La Penita de Jaltemba  Bill Bell Photograph

Hwy 200 Overpass Up, Traffic Coming Soon
Harold Sokolove - PVNN
September 16, 2010

 

With the bridge beams going up on September 11, progress on the overpass of Highway 200 at Nuevo Vallarta is moving quickly.

While some bridges in the Banderas Bay region have come down with the rains, another is going up. The progress on the overpass of Highway 200 at Nuevo Vallarta is amazing. The bridge beams were raised on Saturday, September 11th, and workers have been doing a great job cleaning up the construction debris and putting the finishing touches on the overpass walls.

All of the bridge beams are in place and now they're installing the wall and guard rails on the bridge portion. Flowers have already been planted between the new sidewalk and the lateral. On Tuesday, September 14, the tall, modernistic sculpture was put in place on the pedestrian island near the Farmácia Guadalajara, on the northbound side of the overpass.

With some hustle and favorable weather, the visitors to Vallarta from the north could well be using the overpass to head home after this long holiday weekend. It's still hard to believe this highway project was only started about 7 months ago.
 

 

Mexico's Diario Editorial Appeals to Narcos - and the Mexican Government
Allan Wall - PVNN
September 27, 2010

 

	The fact of the matter is that Mexican journalists are in great danger, and this can’t be swept under the rug.

The Mexican drug cartel war drags on. According to Universal, Mexico’s paper of record, as of September 25th there were 8,083 narco killings thus far in calendar year 2010.

A recent editorial by a Mexican newspaper raised the ire of the Mexican government as it publicly dealt with this issue in a new manner. The newspaper was El Diario de Juarez, published in Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican border city (across the border from El Paso, Texas) which has seen the worst violence of any city in the country.

On September 19th, 2010 (the Sunday edition), on its front page, El Diario published an editorial entitled ¿Qué Quieren de Nosotros? In English that translates to "What do you (plural) want of us?"

The question is directed to the narcos themselves, but it was also written to inform the public and criticize the government’s failure to get control of the situation.

The editorial (you can read it here in its Spanish original). Here is how it begins:

"Señores [lords, rulers, bosses] of the different organizations that are fighting for the plaza [trafficking corridor/marketplace of narcotics] of Ciudad Juarez: the loss of two reporters from this newspaper in less than two years represents irreparable damage for all of us who work here and, in particular, for their families."

The second of these two deaths was the recent one of 21-year old photographer Luis Carlos Santiago, shot in the city in mid-September. Diario’s editorial continues...

"We want you (plural) to know that we are communicators, not mind readers. Therefore, as information workers, we want you (plural) to explain what it is you (plural) want from us, what it is you (plural) want us to publish or not to publish, in order to know what to expect."

Publicly asking narco barons to decide what should or should not be published may seem a step too far, but it should be seen in the context of the following paragraph:

"You (plural) are, at present, the de facto authorities in this city, because the legally mandated authorities have not been able to do anything to keep our colleagues from continuing to fall, although we have repeatedly demanded they do so."

Taken in context of the situation in Ciudad Juarez such a statement is not surprising. Mexican government security forces have not been able to permanently pacify the city. So the newspaper’s calling the drug barons "the de facto authorities in this city" is understandable. Whether you want to call them the "de facto authorities in the city" or not, what’s undeniable is that the government hasn’t been able to stop them.

The editorial also stated that...

"We do not want more deaths. We do not want more injured nor more intimidation. It is impossible to carry out our role in these conditions. Tell us therefore, what is expected of us as a medium of communication... Even in war there are rules. And in any conflagration there are protocols or guarantees to the warring sides to safeguard the integrity of journalists covering them. Therefore we reiterate, señores (lords, rulers, bosses) of the various drug trafficking organizations, explain to us what is wanted of us in order to stop paying the price with the lives of our colleagues."

Elsewhere in the editorial, Diario stated that it was not surrendering, but calling for a truce, a "truce with those whom have imposed the force of law in this city, so that they respect the life of those of us who are dedicated to the profession of informing."

The editorial sure got the attention of the Mexican government, which quickly responded. The administration’s point man was its security spokesman Alejandro Poire, who asserted that "...to negotiate, postpone or suspend the fight against organized crime, far from making the threat of violence disappear, implies submission to the law of those who attack... and that will not occur."

It’s not right, says Poire, for anyone "to make a pact, promote a truce or negotiate with the criminals, who are precisely those who provoke the anguish of the population."

Poire even went so far as to assert that Santiago’s death was caused provoked by personal reasons more than his journalistic functions. This accusation seems unfounded and outrageous, and sounds suspiciously like the government is trying to shift blame.

The fact of the matter is that Mexican journalists are in great danger, and this can’t be swept under the rug. According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, since 2006, over 30 journalists in Mexico have been slain.

Therefore, rather than attack Diario’s editorial, the Mexican government had better take heed of the precarious situation in which Mexico’s reporters find themselves. They ought to take the editorial as a cry for help.

---

Allan Wall is an American citizen who has been teaching English in Mexico since 1991, and writing articles about various aspects of Mexico and Mexican society for the past decade. Some of these articles are about Mexico's political scene, history and culture, tourism, and Mexican emigration as viewed from south of the border, which you can read on his website at AllanWall.net.

Click HERE for more articles by Allan Wall

 

Mexican Mob Beats 2 Alleged Kidnappers to Death
 Associated Press
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September 22, 2010

  Ciudad Juarez, Mexico — Mexican authorities say a mob has beaten two alleged kidnappers to death in the northern border state of Chihuahua.

Chihuahua state prosecutors' spokesman Arturo Sandoval says dozens of angry people in the town of Asencion beat the two men Tuesday until federal police intervened.

Sandoval says officers put the men in their patrol car but the crowd blocked them from leaving and the men died of their wounds inside the car.

Residents shouted at the federal officers and held signs that read "We are tired, fed up with kidnappings, no more kidnappings in Asencion."

Local state lawmaker Alejandro Lebaron says the two men and three others are suspected in the kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl from Asencion.

Veteranos Soccer Field

Mariachi music goes beyond entertainment; it embodies the unique Mexican culture, spirit, and traditions. Originating in Jalisco, today this popular grassroots music encompasses the essence of all Mexico and its people. The month long Guadalajara music and arts festival is a must-see event that promises to be even more spectacular this year as the country celebrates its bicentennial. The first series of performances, The International Mariachi Festival of Guadalajara, runs from August 23 through September 11. There are numerous parades with hundreds of mariachi floats, folk ballet dancers, rodeos, and art exhibits besides the ubiquitous street vendors with delicious traditional Mexican cuisine. This year the mariachis will also perform in churches and cathedrals during masses. The world’s largest mariachi competition, with 500 mariachi bands, is staged at the beautiful Benito Juarez Theatre, with many other concerts held in city parks and at various concert halls. ...Go here (page 3) for complete article

Jaltemba Bay photograph by Bill Bell

Mark Stevenson - Associated Press
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September 20, 2010

 

This video documents the health problems and relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquakes of September 19 and 20, 1985. The first earthquake (8.1 in the Richter scale) left more than 10,000 people dead or missing and thousands more injured. (Pan American Health Organization)

Mexico City – In solemn ceremonies and Roman Catholic masses, Mexico City commemorated the 25th anniversary Sunday of an 8.1-magnitude earthquake that killed as many as 10,000 people and sparked an outpouring of civic action that many say helped lead the nation to democracy.

At the downtown square where the Hotel Regis toppled in 1985, a line of ambulances and patrol cars marked the moment by turning on their sirens; the hotel was never rebuilt, and the square is now known as Solidarity Park.

But it was all silence at the humble monument erected at the site of the collapsed Nuevo Leon apartment building, where hundreds died. An elderly woman lit votive candles for her dead children, and survivors placed colorful floral wreaths at the low benches built in a circle around the site.

Cuauhtemoc Abarca, 53, who at the time was a neighborhood leader for residents of the Tlatelolco housing complex, recalled hearing the sound of shattering glass as the earth shook violently.

"I turned toward the Nuevo Leon and I saw that it was collapsing, first like a sandwich, a

After the quake, as government officials, army troops and police dithered — seemingly unprepared for the disaster and more interested in cordoning off collapsed buildings than in searching for survivors — neighbors organized rescue teams to pull victims from the rubble.

Abarca, who went on to a career as a community activist and helped in relief efforts for Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake that killed as many as 300,000, said the activism awakened by the Mexico City quake is still alive.

"There is more participation in general, in a lot of aspects," he said. "But the government has dedicated itself to dispersing it, creating smoke screens, to act as if it was listening."

Mexico's early declarations that it did not need international aid is thought by many to have contributed to the eventual downfall of the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary

Lightning Punctuates the Dog Days of Tropical Summer

©Tara A. Spears

In August and September the conditions are optimal for the formation of thunderstorms and lightning strikes. Lightning is a form of electrical discharge between clouds or between clouds and the ground. The discharge may take place between two parts of the same cloud, between two clouds or between a cloud and the ground. Thunder is the sound waves produced by the explosive heating of the air and the lightning channel during the return. While it is gorgeous to watch on hot summer nights, lightning can be deadly. Visitors from northern latitudes- that don’t have lightning- are usually unaware of the hazards and therefore do not take precautions. Mexico has the highest number of lightning fatalities, averaging 223 each year. 70% of all lightning strikes occur in the afternoon or early evenings, so plan your outdoor activities accordingly. Most lightning deaths and injuries occur when people are caught outdoors during the summer months. Lightning seeks the path of least resistance. If you are taller than your surroundings, or are standing next to a tall object (such as a tree or palapa), you are a prime target for a lightning strike.

Lightning Specifics:

Voltage in a cloud to ground strike is 100 million to one billion volts; most lightning strikes occur either at the beginning or at the end of a storm; the average lightning strike is six miles long; lightning reaches 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, about four times as hot as the sun’s surface!

You can’t change nature but you can reduce your chances of being struck by recognizing the early approach of a lightning storm.  Avoiding exposure to strikes is the best defense. All outdoor activities such as swimming, golfing, hiking, should be stopped and you should seek shelter when the lightning is within 6 miles. Wait a minimum of 30 minutes for this storm to pass before going outdoors again.  According to Dr. Robert Allen, D.O., with the United States Air Force, if you are outdoors and caught unawares by a storm, follow these steps:

Avoid high ground, water, solitary trees, open spaces, metallic objects. Search for low ground, ditches, or trenches. If the low spot contains water or if the ground is saturated, then find clumps of shrubbery or trees that all of uniform height.

Remove all metal objects, bracelets, watches, rings, if possible. It is best to crouch down on the balls of your feet with your hands over your ears. There should be at least 20 feet between you and other people. Do not all huddle together in a group.

If you are in a fully enclosed metal automobile, seek refuge with all the windows rolled up and your hands in your lap.

Avoid all metal shelters and sun shelters. If golfing, put down the clubs and get off the golf course. People fishing should put down the rods and return to shore.

Stop all bicycles and motorcycles and get away from them.

How to handle lightning victims:

Seek medical attention as soon as possible. If necessary, begin CPR. Make sure before doing CPR that the person is absolutely not breathing or there is no heart rate before starting resuscitation. Victims DO NOT retain an electrical charge. They are safe to handle. Check for burns along the extremities and strike areas. Treat the burns the same as other types of burns. Very common after effects of personal lightning strike include: metallic taste in the mouth, disorientation, numbness, short term impaired eyesight and loss of hearing.

Consider Indoors Safety Measures

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service, besides the outdoor procedures, there are indoor lightning safety measures that apply. Bolts can be conducted into a building through tree roots, telephone lines, water pipes, electrical wires, cable TV lines, computers, steel reinforcement rods and concrete.  It has the power to tear through roofs, explode walls of brick and concrete, start fires and destroy valuable electronic components. Knowing these facts, it is wise to stay out of the bathtub or shower, avoid contact with piping, including sinks, baths and faucets, and have your electronics unplugged during a storm. Unplug your electronics before a thunderstorm, as wide-screen TVs, multiple computers and other devices are costly to replace after lightning fries them. Not using the telephone except for an emergency is also a good precaution.

Following basic safety guidelines can greatly reduce your chances of injury or death from lightning. The NOAA suggests watching for the warning signs of high winds, rain and darkening clouds. While many lightning deaths happen at the beginning of an approaching storm, more than 50 percent of lightning deaths occur after the thunderstorm has passed, says NOAA. That's why it offers the "30/30 Rule" for personal safety: If it takes less than 30 seconds after you see lightning to hear the thunder, you should get indoors and stay there for 30 minutes. Your chances of being struck by lightning are estimated to be 1 in 600,000, according to NOAA so living in a lighting zone simply requires a few lifestyle modifications for safety.   I’ve happily lived with lightning storms for twenty years without mishap by following the above guidelines.