BACK TO SCHOOL
I know it seems out of synch, but here we’re just starting the new school year. Chemo is back in class!
But first, we went to Tocoa to visit Chemo’s brother Markitos—and girlfriend Jessica—and sister Rosa and their mother Rufina, and Rosa’s 7-year-old Tonito. It’s a long trip, at least 10 hours, but once we get to Progreso, it’s a long wide curve along the coast on a paved highway over flat land. Of course, that’s a little deceptive, since it takes you into the belly of the beast, the most conflicted territory of Honduras, unending violence between the “owners” of huge tracts of land and the peasants they stole it from. So it was maybe no surprise that at the last stop before ours, a crowd had gathered around a dead man freshly shot in the head.
We were all set to visit in July of 2012, for Rufina’s birthday, when my brother John died. Then my brother Bob died, and we lost any enthusiasm we might have had for a trip. Plus, although Chemo “plays well” with Markitos and enjoys teasing Rosa and treats Tonito like his own kid, he’s really not too fond of his mother. “She abandoned me!” And that’s true; the family just fell apart when the father, Juan de la Cruz, died of a bloody accident, falling on his own machete.
Rosa actually has the best sense of humor of them all; at least she laughs at all my jokes! And Tonito, with his “sixth-sense” shock of blond hair, is quite a studious little third-grader. Markitos does farm work, for pay, and he’s saved enough to join a cooperative that is buying a palm-oil plantation—from a “narco.” “Don’t worry, Miguel, it’s all legal.” Of course it is. Meanwhile, Jessica has taught him to read!
I had counted out very carefully the money I wanted to give them (hoping it would somehow magically reappear in my wallet afterwards), but they immediately used most of it to pay the past due rent. So I squeezed out some more… Of course, I also took them shopping, took them to lunch, got their meds, etc., all with my credit card, so I didn’t strictly “pay” for that. (And probably never will; heck, I still owe my plane fare to St. Louis from last September!)
Back in Las Vegas, with a little help from my friends, I could outfit some kids for school, including some of Chemo’s cousins who, let’s just say, are not used to school, so they asked Profe Mercedes if she would accept them in her little school in Paraiso, just across the river, where they’d get more personal attention. She is so lovely, she said yes, of course! She’s one teacher in one room with 53 students in 6 grades. Another teacher is due next week, if he doesn’t run away!
Meanwhile, the oldest parts of the school in Las Vegas were demolished. I doubt I would be any help in an emergency, but I was watching closely, in case one of the dads volunteering for the work should have an accident in the crumbling debris. The whole roof of the 50-year-old relic is corrugated slabs of asbestos, but, hey, they “know” it’s carcinogenic, so they’re using gloves….
Of course, Chemo’s return to school is the big news. He has FOUR teachers for the different subjects, which means, I hope, that if one teacher is absent, he won’t lose the whole session, which runs from 8:00 till noon every Saturday. Plus, he’s got about 10 classmates, to help keep him accountable. And then there’s YOUR support! When I put the news on FACEBOOK, it literally brought tears to my eyes to see all the encouraging messages for Chemo’s success. Gracias!
For lack of funds, we did not go to a single Honduras-Progreso (“featuring Nangui!”) soccer game all month. Not that we missed it that much, since the team is playing so poorly.
What finally got us off our duffs was, first, Maria’s birthday in Morazan. Her daughter Arlin planned a surprise party, but that was sort of spoiled when son Eduard walked in with four three-liter sodas and plunked them down in the middle of the kitchen. Plus, a cake had been sitting in the fridge for two days. But I love to see Maria and Fermin together, still noodling like newlyweds.
Second, we had Neysi’s 22nd birthday in Tegucigalpa, where we also picked up 2 boxes from Mac McAuliffe at the airport, a sewing machine for Dora, Neysi’s mom, and kids’ clothes. We celebrated at Pizza Hut in between classes—they’re all university students, Neysi, Lily, Tito, and their housemate Bayron. The pride of Las Vegas!
Do you think it’s possible to get the Zika virus only in my left foot? I’ve been hobbling around like an extra in “The Walking Dead” for at least a month. Feels like someone hammered an iron spike in my heel. I guess it’s the kind of thing you’d say, stay off it! But you know, I’m walkin’ here! Sometimes, it barely hurts at all, then there it goes. Sometimes it hurts worst when I’m just sitting down. Where’s that medical marijuana when you need it!
All my love, Miguel
