"Mexikid" by Pedro Martín, Chapters 12–16 : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus

corrupt

I don't know. It's a long and dangerous trip back. There are road bandits and corrupt cops...

logic

Sal had his logic.

savvy

Ruth had that ghost-business savvy.

sage

Lila had all that sage wisdom.

ruthless

And Leon and Noe had their stupid, ruthless, unnecessary tricks...

invaluable

Before they could drive away, Abuelito offered them some advice. After all, he had traveled all over Mexico, sometimes just on foot, so his knowledge of this great and wild land was invaluable.

mature

I needed to be on the lookout for my time to help the adults. I was "in support" now. I needed to be mature enough to see...when...Hey! They have pop rocks!

endorse

I loved a good "tiendita." Not only was this one full of all the best Mexican-style sweets, it was endorsed by both Coca-Cola and the Virgen de Guadalupe!

sidle

Suddenly a skinny little kid sidled up to Adam.

mucus

It was one of those thick, thick mucus drips that can and will fight for its own survival.

partial

She may have been partial, but she thought our ice cream was the best in town.

ghoulish

It was really sunny that morning. Perfect weather for a cemetery dig, I guess. There were no wolves howling or anything. And the guy who ran the place was young and suntanned. Not a ghoulish guy with a lantern like you'd expect.

lantern

It was really sunny that morning. Perfect weather for a cemetery dig, I guess. There were no wolves howling or anything. And the guy who ran the place was young and suntanned. Not a ghoulish guy with a lantern like you'd expect.

delicate

The guy explained that it was going to be an especially delicate dig.

zealot

Abuelito started to dig first. For a guy who could outlift Noe and battle road bandits and religious zealots, he seemed kinda frail today. His might hands were not gripping the shovel very tightly.

frail

Abuelito started to dig first. For a guy who could outlift Noe and battle road bandits and religious zealots, he seemed kinda frail today. His might hands were not gripping the shovel very tightly.

drought

They worked as hard as they could to keep the land producing. But then a terrible drought came and the crops started to die away.

leaflet

When your father was about sixteen years old, an airplane flew by and dropped leaflets near their rancho. The flyers advertised jobs in the cotton fields near Gómez Palacio.

advertise

When your father was about sixteen years old, an airplane flew by and dropped leaflets near their rancho. The flyers advertised jobs in the cotton fields near Gómez Palacio.

devotion

That's her scapular.* I remember burying her in it.
*Worn over the shoulders by Catholics sometimes to show devotion for the Sacred Heart of Jesus or a saint.

velvet

My amá rinsed the mud off of the scapular in the motorhome's sink. Without all the muck, it was a beautiful velvet ribbon.

mausoleum

A few days after we moved Abuelita into her new mausoleum, my tía had us all over to celebrate Abuelito's move to the USA.

ballad

And then after a bunch of rousing ballads were sung, the "Thinkable" happened.

torment

Abuelito sang a song called "Prieta Linda." Apá said it was Abuelito's favorite. It was a song about loss and torment.

fiery

It felt crazy! Like all the sadness I saw at the cemetery and all the happiness I felt right now became a fiery ball in my chest that would not stay down.

introspection

Maybe Alex was right. Maybe I wasn't "Mexican enough." Fancy haircut aside, if I couldn't express my feelings in a real Mexican fashion, how Mexican was I? This was the kind of introspection I was trying to avoid from the get-go.

vengeance

Well, I guess I would have gone for an "I will return and have vengeance on all the evildoers" kinda thing. But that's me.

mission

We were finally done with our mission, and it was time to go home.

chronicle

It made me want to draw something new! I decided to chronicle Abuelito's new adventures!

eager

After all I had seen and heard about my abuelito, I was eager to hear more. Eager, but kind of nervous.

sidekick

This I can use! He was a super smart mule sidekick. Like a four-legged boy wonder!

immense

He drew himself next to Guicho. His hat was low on his head and his scarf was under his nose. He did it so well, it was like had done it a hundred time before. Was this where I got my immense skills?

specialty

Palomitas are triangular firecrackers made out of newspaper and gunpowder. A homemade Mexican specialty.

fishy

Nah. Come on. Let's go. Sounds fishy.

quota

OK, but you must buy them all or my father will beat me for not selling my quota.

hulk

Maybe...but we can have the Catholic Hulk on our side!

vaguely

And then he can say something vaguely religious, like...Forget Palm Sunday! It's Fist Friday!

concept

Hell is a religious concept we Catholics adhere to.