I was invited to the very remote rancho of Juan and Flaca for dinner. Goat tacos, goat cheese, homemade tortillas.
Flaca fairly danced with glee. "With the old luz (light) I could have light for maybe two hours at night in the kitchen, turn it off, go into la sala (living room turn that light on for perhaps an hour, then bañar (shower) then a bit of light for the recamarera (bedroom)"
"With the new lights (5050 48 smd) I can have the kitchen light on for (many) hours while Juan is having his cerveza with Chaparro in the sala, and Jorge is taking his bath"
All because changing the 50 watt 12 volt incandescent light bulbs for 2 watt "placas" plates (emitters) allowed the group 27 ciclando profundo (LTH deep cycle battery) to not be overstressed. The couple has a 120 watts of solar panels laid flat on the roof. Juan purchased a 10-watt LED floodlight and has it pointed at the goat pen. "I can now milk after dark without lighting the lampara de petroleo (kersosene lantern)".
So how does a person react to seeming bliss at very fundamental levels of quality of life? it hits me straight in the ticker. It's a little if any profit venture. Because I know the value that hard-working people place on stuff that really makes a difference.
I'm selfish. This is the Mexico I grew up with in the fifties and sixties. This is the Mexico I intend to stick with. They endure hardship an deprivation with a grimace and a smile. There are many Mexico's. The stuff that causes headlines north of the border is as alien to these campesinos as they are to me and you. But when a small CD player is cranked up and a reedy wail of a ranchero song causes the family to sing as a group, well, it's hard to put into words.
If I can salvage stuff I will. I gripe about a pension that cannot afford the least expensive apartment north of the border. Compared to these decent, honest folks, I have everything...
So yeah, if you have spare stuff working or not I'll either repair it and give it away, or cannibalize it. Really old fashioned (heavy) battery chargers are a real plus. I can resurrect them as long as they aren't high frequency Smart chargers. Broken inverters are less desirable except if they are heavy. Unfixable I can strip out the heatsinks. Juan is getting a DC to DC 36 volt Sharp 30 watt chip that can light up his entire yard (mounted on a heatsink with salvaged chrome visor) like daylight. No more worries about coyotes or mountain lions. Panchito the chihuahua is the burglar alarm. Juan is placing the switch next to his bed.
I's all a matter of perspective I guess.
