The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-12
Vagabond
from
Indiana
ERNIE PYLE

EDITORS NoTE--This rowing reporter
for The Times gees where ne piesses'
when he pieases, In search Of ed steries
shout this and that.
NTExICO CITY, May 12.-Ine
WI American Ambassador got
wind of my being in town, and had
his secreta-s call up.
You must have tea with the AM
bassador and Mrs. Daniels tonor-
row" said the secretary.
I said 1 was leaving early the
next morning. But it appeared the
Ambassador was wringing his hands
and simply wouldn't live through 1t
If didn't come to tea, so I said
"Oh, all right, I'll come"
I sat up late jotting down ser
fences could use to open the cen
versation and get things started CT
smoothly, such as We'll, Mr.. AM
bassador, how do you like Mexico?"
also had one about Which has
the biggest kick, Mr.. Ambassador,
tequila or habanero?" but ! decided
not to use that one.
Anyway, the next afternoon I got
a shoeshine, and at 10 minutes after
S Gust fashionably late, you know
l pulled up in front of the Embassy.
4 FELLOW in uniform took my
L n hat and looked at it couple
OF times as if trying to make up his
mind, and then gave me a check.
I went up some steps into a big
living room, with fire going in the
fireplace.
I introduced myself to tall, nice
looking man who seemed to be there
for that purpose, and he took me
over and introduced me to Mrs.
Daniels, who was talking with a
couple of lady friends.
Mrs. Daniels caught the name
right away, and asked if we liked
Mexico, and 1 said sure, didn't she,
and she said oh she just loved Mex
leo.
I kept wondering when these
other people would leave so we could
oAV 0OWA1 dll0 nave I6d,
Then the Ambassador came
through the door. He shook hands
and called me by name, and said,
We'll, Mr.. Ambassador, how do you
like {. :" but he was already going
out the other door.
thought that before got mad
and left I'd just see what the Am
bassador was in such a hurry about,
so I followed him into the next
room, and there, you can believe it
or not, were at least hundred peo-
pie, all standing around holding tea
cups and talking.
OH, so this is it, is it? So the
~ Ambassador was just busting
for me to have little quiet tea
with him, was he? Oh see. Well,
here l. go, right out the door.
But just as I was starting I saw
fellow named Lincoln that had
run on to in Cuernavaca, and
stopped to talk with him a min
ute, and while we were talking a
fellow in uniform handed me a
cup OF tea, with a napkin under the
saucer, and another fellow came
and gave me a French pastry, or
something.
Then a man and woman came
up and Mr.. Lincoln introduced
them as Mr.. and Mrs. Kaufman
from Wisconsin, and Mr.. Kauf-
man turned out to be Uncle Ray"
who writes the newspaper column
for children.
Then a girl from Wellesley came
over and said she had come to
Mexico to stay year and was
studying in the university and liv-
ing with a Mexican family 50 she
could learn Spanish better.
A ND then young fellow with a
L y camera over his shoulder came
UP and said he was a photographer
and had worked in New York for 10
years but got fed up with it and
took a boat to Mexico. He liked it
SO well he took the next boat back
to New York and packed his stuff
and got his wife and came back
here to live.
See that little Spanish girl over
there in the blue suit" he said.
That's my wife. She's scared to
death among all these Americans"
said she wasn't scared any worse
than was.
BY that time I had drunk two
cups of tea and it was a quarter
after 6 and I went over to say good
by to the Ambassador. He shook
hands and said "Good-by. Mr.. Pyle"
and started to turn away. But 1
thought, oh no you don't, so held
onto his hama and said II think
you're good friend of my boss.
aren't your" and he said who's
that?" So I told him and he said
he certainly was, and what a fine
man the boss was, and be sure and
tell him hello for me.
On the way out I said to Mrs.
Daniels, Don't these things almost
drive you nuts?" and she said, mo.
we love them"