How I Came to Call Cozumel Home: A Series, by Island Residents – Jim Chalmers

For the third year in a row, Cozumel 4 You is proud to host this weekly series, which features island residents – written in their own words, describe how they came to call the island home and what they love about Cozumel.  Running from June – August, you can find the 2 prior years in our archives, 2013 & 2012.

Sometime around 1980, a sweet girlfriend named Tuesday, gifted me a YMCA scuba course (not knowing she would change my life FOREVER!!!). All the training was is a swimming pool, so when it came time for the check-out dive, I had a choice of a muddy lake in central Texas, or Cozumel, & when I found out that Tuesday was going on the CZM trip & needed a roommate, it wasn’t too tough a choice!!!   Despite the fact that I burst my eardrum on the 1st dive, I was HOOKED!!!

I continued returning to CZM as often as possible!!! Labor Day weekend of ’83, I was out sailing in Galveston Bay with my friend Tony (which was a usual occurrence), when I got off the boat Monday evening, I gave Tony my hibachi & ice chest, & he inquired “WHY”??? I informed that I was going to move to CZM the following Friday!!! He asked if I was drunk or crazy, to which I replied “maybe BOTH, but I’ve had it with Houston & the bulls#@t!!”

I had 3 days to pull this off, which included chunking a LIFETIME of possessions & trying to explain to family & friends what was going on. I gave my car back to the bank, sold what I could & left the rest sitting in my rented condo. My dad took me to the airport on Friday Sept. 9th. I shed a few tears on the flight, wondering what the HELL I had just DONE!!! hahaha.

I arrived, not knowing it was “hurricane season”, “rainy season”,  “no girls season”, etc, etc!!! I realized then that I didn’t know anybody, didn’t have a place to live or a job, hardly spoke the language, & not a lot of cash!!! DUHHH!  My pride wouldn’t let me go home, & besides, I had nothing to go home TO!!!

I met a lady from DF who sold t-shirts & she knew Pepe Becerra, & she arranged a meeting. I took my guitar to his office & sang him a Willie Nelson song, & he hired me to play & sing in a little intimate bar (which is now a jewelry store) downstairs in Pepe’s Grill. He gave me food, booze, pay & a room at his Hotel Colonial!!! WOW!!!

There are MANY more stories in this 30 year saga, but my “adult beverage” is empty & it’s time to go to sunset (a daily routine for all these years), so as Bugs Bunny says….”that’s all folks”!!! hahaha!!!! God bless Cozumel (& you, TOO!!!) jc

Jim Chalmers has lived in Cozumel for over 30 years and is a fixture around town, especially during Sunset.  Known for his wit, he was kind enough to write his story for Cozumel 4 You this week.

This story originally appeared in the weekly Cozumel 4 You NEWS – the island’s number one source of positive information about our island!  Be sure and subscribe to the weekly NEWS to find out all the island events!…

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Laura Wilkinson

Author at Cozumel 4 You

An ex-Connecticut Yankee who has called Cozumel home for over 18 years, Laura ran away to the Caribbean years ago, bumped around the islands teaching SCUBA diving, lost some time in Jamaica, and finally stopped in Cozumel for a 2 week vacation that hasn’t ended yet. With a degree in Journalism from a fancy private college she convinced her parents to pay for, Laura writes, edits, and creates the weeklyCozumel 4 You news,social media, and promotional articles about the island, as well as moderates the Cozumel 4 You Facebook group, which currently has over 25,000 members. Her long suffering husband, Fabian, has long since resigned himself to having zero private life, as he’s been involved in her various schemes and plots since his arrival. Proud parents to a variety of rescue dogs and cats, Laura continues to be the bane of her traditional Mexican mother-in-law’s existence, as she muses her way through life in the Mexican Caribbean.
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Una ex yanqui de Connecticut quien llama hogar a Cozumel desde hace más de 15 años. Laura escapó al Caribe hace años, desplazándose de una isla a otra dando clases de BUCEO. Se dedicó a perder el tiempo en Jamaica y finalmente se detuvo en Cozumel para pasar unas vacaciones de 2 semanas que aún no terminan. Convenciendo a sus padres que pagaran una elegante universidad privada, obtuvo su título en Periodismo y Laura crea semanalmente Cozumel 4You, medios sociales y artículos promocionales sobre la Isla y también es moderadora en el grupo Cozumel 4 You en Facebook que actualmente cuenta con 25,000 miembros. Fabián, s umuy tolerante marido, desde hace mucho tiempo se resignó a no tener vida privada, pues se ha visto implicado en los diversos proyectos y planes que urde Laura. Son orgullosos padres de diversos perros y gatos rescatados. Mientras contempla su paso a través de la vida en el Caribe mexicano,Laura continúa siendo la pesadilla en la existencia de su muy tradicional suegra mexicana.

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