i went and ate with a mexican guy named manuel. we ate at a place called The Marinero. manuel is 51 years old and i think may be mildly retarded. he doesnt understand english all that well, but is still taking a test to get his citizenship, that way he can fairly contribute to the mess that is the economy. manuel doesnt really understand spnish all that well either. at the mariner they had terrible food. he thought it was great. i told him about the mexican food place down the street called "el capitan" but he refused to be bother with it. when i explained to him that camarones diabla should taste like actual spices and not like someone poured black pepper and red paint all over some shrimp, he stared at me with the most beautiful brown, blank look. a look that you would think was on the face of some poor haitian when Columbus came ashore.