Our solar and wind power fun continues this week so no microwave or coffee yet but I am hopeful that this next week will be the one. We awoke this morning to thousands of butterflies! They are much smaller than US butterflies and they are pure white so it looks like snow. Very beautiful Dominican snow!
We spent this week getting our new hard top bimini fabricated and ready for installation. We went to see Felo (the welding guy in town that has been working on the bimini hard top) to check on his progress. When we arrived, he pointed to the storage unit and gestured for us to follow him. When he opened the storage unit, there was a pile of galvanized steel posts but no construction of any sort. He then gestured to Bill to start taking the posts out of the storage unit. Felo then began placing the posts on the ground in the configuration that Bill had given him several weeks ago. It was at that point that Bill realized that Felo was going to build the bimini right then and there which actually turned out to be a good idea so that Bill could be sure it was correct prior to any welding. However, we decided it was a good thing that we had stopped by to check on it all or I guess the posts would have just been in the storage unit forever (along with about 100 other pieces that were also in the storage unit….had to make me wonder who has been waiting on something from Felo that they never received….I guess they didn’t know they needed to check on his progress….) While Bill and Felo were assembling the bimini, I wandered over to the baseball field to watch the local kids play for awhile. There were several groups of children flying kites they had made out of garbage bags, sticks and plastic grocery bags for the long tail. They had their kite strings tied around empty plastic water bottles. What a wonder it was to watch! Their trash constructed kites flew better than any store bought kite I had ever flown. The older kids knew exactly how much string to pull in or let out in order to keep the kite from crashing into the trees and the speed at which the little ones could run to launch the kite was amazing! I have no doubt that these kids could have taught the Wright brothers a thing or two about air lift. As I watched, I also noted that older kids giving younger kids a heaping of abuse is universal. The little guy would run his little heart out, turn and yell “aqui?” (which means “here”?) and the older kids would say, “No! Mas! Mas! (No! More! More!) and as the younger child would sigh deeply and turn and run further, the older kids would begin laughing hysterically….I guess we all have to pay those dues at some point in life! As I was watching the kids play, a man approached me. He was obviously going to beg some money from me so I prepared myself. He was quite obviously Dominican but when he began to speak, he spoke perfect English without any trace of an accent! I was so taken aback that I asked, “Where did you learn to speak English? It is perfect!”. He responded, “In New York where I lived.” He then proceeded to ask me for some money in his perfect English but I was still too intrigued to be brushed off yet. I told him he should be a translator in town because we all needed a translator. He then explained that he could not be a translator because he had no teeth (at which point he widely opened his mouth to show me his no teeth) so people would not understand him when he spoke. As a speech therapist, I knew this “fact” to be massively flawed but I decided to let it pass. Our next interaction pretty much proved the ‘curiosity killed the cat’ premise. I could not help myself, I just had to know…..so I asked…. “So when did you leave New York?” His response, “I was deported about 30 years ago.”…..every instinct in my body was screaming ‘don’t do it, Sally…don’t ask….’ But alas, curiosity won out and the words came out before I could stop them….. “Really? Why were you deported?” His responded nonchalantly, “Well, I just had to kill somebody”. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who “just had to kill somebody” and this scrawny old Dominican man who I could snap in half if needed hardly seemed likely as my first murderer to meet in life. Needless to say, I did a quick check over my shoulder to be sure Bill was in sight and then quickly gave my new friend a few pesos and sent him on his way! So, lesson in life….if someone tells you he has been deported….just let it go! After Bill and Felo finished the fabrication of the bimini, Poppo loaded it onto his small boat and transported it out to Gone Galt. Bill and I managed to get the solar panels installed but then we had to call in some backup help to get the bimini hoisted into position. That feat involved attaching the structure to the halyard lines and swinging it out over the side of the boat and then up onto the existing bimini. Our chores this week will involve securing the new bimini into place and removing the old bimini. We are just praying for no storms prior to that time or Galt may join the butterflies and kites soaring through the air! Until next week, may your path cross many butterflies and no begging deportees!
2 Comments
Rebecca Smith
8/30/2020 09:07:39 pm
I love catching up with you each week! I'm going to start printing out your blogs for everyone to read ❤. I tried emailing you and realized I don't have your email!! 🤦♀️. Hope the kids are well! Miss you bunches and continue to be mildly jealous
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Sally
9/2/2020 02:18:18 pm
Hi Girl!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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