Spanish views from a small town

Spanish elections have gone from affairs in which everyone and their (dead) neighbor participated, to something very selective, in which to participate you have to arm yourself with patience, documents, and luck if you live abroad. If you are a Spanish citizen, and live in Spain, you are automatically registered to vote as soon as you turn eighteen. According to your residence, you are sent a card in the mail informing you of where you have to go to cast your vote on the Sunday chosen for elections. Straightforward and hassle-free. But if you are Spanish and have had to leave the country to find a decent job and living conditions, things get complicated. Once upon a time they weren't. I remember when I turned eighteen I automatically got the ballot in the mail for general elections. All I had to do was choose which party I wanted to vote for, and send the ballot back by mail. Generally, those who live overseas register at the nearest Spanish consulate so they can renew any nat...

Last night my husband and I drove his youngest brother to the airport to catch his flight back to Barcelona. My mother-in-law had mentioned that she wanted to go, but then she changed her mind. As the car drew away from her house last night, she waved and put her hand over her heart. This brother-in-law has always been her favorite. Probably because he is the youngest. My husband always complained that when they were single and went out on weekend nights with friends, his brother could come home the next morning and there wouldn't be any problem. But if he did the same, he'd get beaten with the broom.  At the airport we had some doubts about my brother-in-law's suitcase. He opted to pay for a suitcase weighing a maximum of fifteen kilos, but it felt like a lot more. His intention hadn't been to take anything more than a carry-on bag, but his mother, in true Galician fashion, urged him to take things back with him. Such as homemade orujo , a type of Spanish grappa di...