By Don Hall

 ...that if your perception of Mexico and Mexican people specifically comes from the media, you need to take a trip to Mexico. Trust me, you’re wrong. Beautiful country, beautiful people. Trusting your media-fed perspective is like trusting Trump about Chicago.

...that whomever came up with the myth that a bird shitting on you is good luck is likely responsible for similar bullshit including Trickle Down Economic Theory and The Secret. Yes, you can correctly infer that a bird shit on me.

...that the best beaches in Cancun are the public beaches because watching a dad teach his 4-year-old son to swim while eating a hunk of mango next to the ocean is as close to Nirvana as you’re gonna get.

...that travel is good for the soul. Yes, when you’re juggling rent and child payments and the rising cost of meth, travel can seem impossible but none of that changes the fact that travel is good for the soul.

...that I feel the frustration and bewildered anger at snow in Chicago and I’m also thrilled that we took this week to spend in sunny, 84-degree weather. I can empathize and bask at the same time as I am multifaceted that way.