Watch out for this guy in the Tobolandia parking lot at the Chili Cookoff...

Good one Bob

Young boys in Mexico, at least, fear "La Chancla"

Jeez, Mike. I thought we'd trained you better than that. . .

When I first arrived here in 2010 Toño washed my car outside of the LCS without asking and then demanded $200. I knew better but wasn't sure how to handle him as he looked rather menacing and I didn't want him messing with my car when he saw it next. The berry seller nearby actually came to my rescue told him off for me as being "loco" and told me to give him no more than $40. I knew that was the Walmart lot price so I did and told him in Spanish never to touch my car or wash anyone's car without permission. He then moved on to in front of Mail Boxes Etc. (now iShop) and I made sure that I always made some small talk with him to keep him off the subject of asking for work. I heard all the stories about his multiple children and the one with cancer. Then he started the litany with "polish?" showing me some nondescript can with a greasy white substance in it...manteca for all I know. I then found my hook with him...I focused on teaching him to pronounce it "pah-lish" not "poh-lish" and that his Spanish accent made it sound like "polaco" or a person from Poland. "No one will ever know what you mean when you say it like 'polaco,'" I wisely counseled him. Of course he can't remember from one day to the next how to say it right, so that's my conversation with him as I try to get from my car to my mailbox and he no longer bugs me. So it can be done without f-bombs too.