There are days we just putter, gain our bearings and take care of the details like laundry and maintenance. There are days when we go to the beach and play in the sea and sun, after a morning of schoolwork. There are days we do both. Other days are filled with traveling and visiting, shopping and activities. The rhythm of Caribbean life makes it so much simpler to live that kind of balance. Even though our time here is limited, so is it on this earth, and we are ever aware that activity does not make a moment well spent.
At the beach today-so calm, so peaceful...sitting on a huge log that we often seek out to survey the ever-changing scenery.
We noticed a large truck pull up with what looked like a small house built on to it, out of which a group of men emerged. A little out of context but you see all sorts of unusual things here. Back to our beach watching, we were approached from behind by a man holding a baby. He asked us to move because he wanted our log...We looked behind him and saw tha t group of men... one holding a chainsaw....one a large stick...and one a machete...this is the point where, if you have an active imagination, menacing music begins to crescendo...
Back to reality-there were lots of people on the beach... I couldn't resist asking him what he was going to do with the log (Michael sometimes seems nervous when I do this, especially when there's potential weapons involved...but hey, he had a baby...) With gestures, some English, and much Spanish, he explained he was going to cut the log into lumber to build a room onto his house.
We remembered the story Nick has relayed to us just the day before of a fellow who works for him, who builds his home a little bit at a time, as he can find lumber or bits of building materials. We realized we were looking at just such a man-maybe the very one. We took one look at that baby girl being held by her big brother now, the community of men to help him, and wished there was a Home Depot close by. we could have bought him some lumber-at very little sacrifice to ourselves. Really, we have SO MUCH!
It was quite a production to get the chainsaw working well enough to cut the log, and then use some leverage to get its' pieces hoisted up (thats what the big stick was for...) I asked if they's mind if i took photos. One fellow took over the photo-op, even directing me on the angle and timing of the shots!
So, here we are without one log to sit on at the beach...and a family has a bit more lumber to add one more room to their life...
At the beach today-so calm, so peaceful...sitting on a huge log that we often seek out to survey the ever-changing scenery.
Back to reality-there were lots of people on the beach... I couldn't resist asking him what he was going to do with the log (Michael sometimes seems nervous when I do this, especially when there's potential weapons involved...but hey, he had a baby...) With gestures, some English, and much Spanish, he explained he was going to cut the log into lumber to build a room onto his house.
It was quite a production to get the chainsaw working well enough to cut the log, and then use some leverage to get its' pieces hoisted up (thats what the big stick was for...) I asked if they's mind if i took photos. One fellow took over the photo-op, even directing me on the angle and timing of the shots!
So, here we are without one log to sit on at the beach...and a family has a bit more lumber to add one more room to their life...
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