Our business partner and Lorena’s brother, Tío Lynn, had a birthday a few days back. We are very grateful to work with him. It is a little surreal for a gringo embedded in American high tech business culture to watch how things operate in Mexico. And it is not just Mexico, it is working class Mexico. Lynn has a law degree and is a practicing lawyer, but he grew up in a middle class neighborhood that bordered on a very much lower class neighborhood. He is burdened by an incredible work ethic and a soft heart coupled with intimate knowledge of how things operate in those rough neighborhoods. He has to deal with people not showing up, paying late, prevaricating, pilfering, and a plethora of other challenges both in his legal work and the construction work he does for our company. I honestly do not know how he does it, especially because in many, if not most, cases he is the last line of defense. He avoids one disaster after another, but with great joy and, I have to admit, style. I really miss being able to discuss the state of the world with him after work every night. It seems like I am operating in the dark a lot more when he is not around.