The dull orange and
Brown bird hopped and leaped
Among the blades of grass.
Meditations From Our Trip into Town
1. Our neighbors greeted us as we walked to the road. They wouldn’t be going to the market; held up waiting for a plumber. They offered us a Reader’s Digest and a story of horses they love but can no longer ride despite the cortisone shots in the hip.
2. At Mana’s market the Christians were there again. Though we talked to a different one this time. That sounds like an odd way of talking about people, and if I were of the same faith I’d probably be inclined to refer to him as my fellow Christian, because I doubt I would remember his name regardless and that’s not to say anything about him. It just takes me a while to get to know someone or recall their name. He and his wife have come to Panama to talk about the Bible, but he talked to us about interesting places to see. Soon they’ll be headed to Bogota if the price is right.
3. Walking to the Dollar Store we saw a group of small children in their school uniforms climbing in the trees and congregating near the bus stop. One little couple of brothers hurried for a treat near the kinetic intersection that’s called the Parque. I was a teacher in the States and wouldn’t have allowed the climbing and would’ve felt guilty about not informing the school about the unsupervised brothers. But I’m not a teacher anymore and smiled.
4. At the church among the vegetables, we were warmly greeted by an Australian expat who informed me I had been taken off the pickle ball contact list, which kind of hurt, though I’ve never played and am not sure what it’s all about.
5. She also told us we missed a meeting at the new hospital, but they’re going to have another one soon and she’ll let us know about that one. We talked about other places to live nearby but she likes the community here. We do too though we’re not much in the way of community people.
6. Outside the church on our way to the water store that’s been closed for a week, and is still closed despite continuing promises of it’s opening again -
But until I see it I’ll no longer cart our large near Sparkletts size water jug around, we saw a German Shepherd mix lying on its back after recently being struck and killed by a car. Given the number of dogs roaming free we’re surprised at how uncommon that is.
7. On the bus headed for home the assistant casually flicked a candy wrapper to the side of the road. I’ve seen other assistants and people do so as well. The beautiful roads here are sprinkled with “Please, Don’t” signs, but they’re use to the wind and the rain and the rivers taking their garbage away. That’s not to say I believe to each his own. It’s wrong and it’s shameful and I hope it changes soon.
8. We are living here now. It’s not home. We’re not sure where that is. It may be nearby. It may be in a few places. We may never find it, but we’ll keep looking together.
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