Monday, September 17, 2012

Abierto Por Favor!



I'm loving these dog days of September.  The mornings are cool enough that we can wait until 8 a.m. to ride bikes, and with the pool covered at night, I'm still swimming!  I know people from other places probably pity us fools here in Phoenix when they see the September temps still listed in the low 100's, but without the daytime heat, I wouldn't be floating in the cement pond!

Saby loves September too because she's getting back into her outside season where she can lie around in the shade all day and occasionally rally to chase a lizard.

What we're not loving is Sheriff Joe.  He seems benign enough with the whole prisoners in pink prison suits and trips to Oahu to investigate President Obama's birth certificate publicity stunts until he raids your favorite neighborhood Mexican restaurant and shuts it down.  But afterall, it's election season! 

Thanks Joe for keeping us safe from all the Mexicans who labor in low paying jobs in Mexican restaurants.   Don't worry about the car that someone arsoned in our neighborhood the same day!  Joe's excuse is that he's helping bring jobs back to Arizona.  If anyone wants to wash dishes, scurry on out to Casa Blanca to apply for one of those low-paying kitchen jobs! I'm sure the line's out the door and down the road by now.  Actually not.  The parking lot's still roped off and the place looks abandoned.

We discovered the restaurant was closed early Thursday evening when we went there in pursuit of chicken enchiladas in red sauce and grilled chicken and guacamole tostadas. Since then, we've circled past twice in hopes that the cause of the shutdown had been fixed.   Finally on Saturday, we did an internet search because we figured something big had happened.  Actually, we got a little freaked that they'd been shut down by the health department and wanted to make sure we hadn't missed the announcement that we needed to stand in line for a hepatitis shot.  Here's what we found.

Some jackass called the hotline.  When we first moved in, an older neighbor a few doors down was constantly bragging about calling Sheriff Joe's hotline every time he saw a Hispanic in the neighborhood.  Never mind that a lot of our neighbors are Hispanic.


 
I'm wondering if they hauled the Most Interesting Man in the World away in handcuffs too?  After all, he has an accent!

Enough.  I'm off to buy sisal rope.  If my little project turns out well, I'll show you the results in a day or two.  (Maybe we'll circle past Casa Blanca on the way to see if they're open!)  




5 comments:

Ann said...

Sorry to hear about the restaurant closing --if they closed every restaurant that had illegals working it, there wouldn't be many still open!

Life's a Beach! said...

Exactly Ann! We'd be stuck with On the Border, Garcia's, and Taco Bell's. Hopefully they're still closed because of lack of staffing and not legal issues and fines. They passed a law in Arizona a few years ago that makes employers liable if they hire illegals, but I think it's hard to prove culpability since most illegals have false papers and pay social security. We were in a favorite restaurant in Bellevue, WA years ago when an I.C.E. team descended upon the restaurant and hauled half a dozen employees away. I remember thinking how absurd it was because they looked the other way in the orchards in Eastern Washington because the fruit would die on the trees if they arrested illegals there. Arizona's economy took a dive back when they first starting passing all these bills. Mexicans fled the state, leaving apartments and stores standing empty in parts of Phoenix.

drgeoo said...

Glad Craig is feeling well enough to venture out to Casa Blanca, and if yours is similar to the one on Isla he must feel spirited indeed. I only hope he is strong enough to wrest the remains of his trousers away from your new craft project.

Life's a Beach! said...

Actually, he made a return trip to the doctor today after he discovered he'd broken out in a new rash over most of his body. Ugh ugh ugh. I think Casa Blanca is still closed. Otherwise we'd be there tonight bathing our wounds in comfort food. : )

Diane Daniel said...

Sorry your favorite restaurant suffered the nut job sheriff treatment.
We are loving being in Northern California in the heart of coastal agriculture where those who grow the food (Mexicans) are left to do what needs doing. The local gas station taqueria has some of the best tacos I've ever eaten.
We sold our house in Bisbee, moved our income out of state so the whackjobs like Joe and Jan don't get a piece of it anymore. My vote isn't worth much in AZ..so I voted the only way I can - with my wallet.