I dated a girl from El valle de san pedro (otherwise known as San Pedro Garza Garcia; one of the loveliest parts of Monterrey), Monterrey Nuevo Leon Mexico.

If you go to Monterrey, and take vasconcelos all the way to Gomez Morin boulevard (if I remember correctly) and then drive all the way up to the Mountain, you end up in a checkpoint that has a bar, and guards on both sides.

Well, if you manage to get past that checkpoint and continue heading, you’ll end up in a house that resembles a castle.

Lucia lived (and still does) in that mansion.

Anyway, on one of our dates (it was always a pleasure to date Lucia since as a RegioMontana she has milky white skin, brown long her and lovely green eyes) we had dinner at el tenedor restaurant in el valle, and then went to the organization Ramirez multicinemas to watch “vampires” (Lucia loves horror films).

Since Lucia comes from one of the industrial families of Monterrey, on each and every of our dates she was surrounded by about 8 to 9 bodyguards. Lucia was not allowed to go anywhere without her bodyguards since her family was afraid of abduction. Recall that the notable Senior Garza Sada, a fellow graduate of M.I.T., died in the hands of extremists, so one can understand the fear that alot of families in El Valle have about abduction.

Since Lucia was always surrounded by these men, I begun to refer to them as her jail cell.

A couple of years later, after I had left Mexico, in a nice warm September I visited a nearby beach close to Athens. I usually do this since in September since all the tourists (local and international) are gone so I have this whole beach to myself.

A warm mediterranean breeze engulfed me as I approached the inviting sea and dove in for a swim. 

I thought of poor Lucia.

Like king Midas, she had all the money in the world and was a prisoner of this wealth. While I had the whole beach to myself, the lovely greek sea, and it cost me nothing….

Can you really put a price on freedom??

I wonder….