Rob, I've read many stories about the mind-shaking, supernatural anomalies that happened during "The Christ War." Sometimes, when the federal troops saw those marvels, hundreds dropped their arms and ran to the side of the "Cristeros," afraid of what could happen to them should they continue killing more peasants. In some places, peasants hanging from telephone poles beside railroads stretched for as far as the eyes could see.

When the federal troops and Marxist agrarian reformers accompanying them captured peasants, they were brutally cruel: jerking out their tongues, cutting off their heads, raping their women, and other horrors. The Mexican government tries to keep that war a secret. Today's Mexican young people know little about it. I had to dig out most of the information myself when I was a college student there, for the government doesn't want foreigners to know anything about it. There are some books about it.

Micaela's father was the only person I met who saw one of those marvels happen in front of his very eyes.

I really liked that old man. I first met him in this country. Micaela, his daughter and also our neighbor, forced him to live with her in this country, saying he could no longer take care of himself. He was so homesick for Mexico that he became almost hopelessly senile, not even able to remember who he was. Finally, Micaela sent him back. When we arrived, a few months later, he had regained all his faculties. Also, he had regained a lot of energy. he just loved to walk all over town, visiting with cronies and the like. In fact, on the day he told me this story, we were walking up a steep hill together.

Gene