Big Day

[Kip]

Visiting some new parts of the country today with William, Nick and Adolfo....I give you Montecristi. Very pretty place....



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[Stewmuse]

Visiting some new parts of the country today with William, Nick and Adolfo....I give you Montecristi. Very pretty place....



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Hmmm... January, perhaps? I don't yet know, for certain, of my availability, let alone yours.

[kurtdesign1]

Wow. That's a must if it's accessible...

[Kip]

It's about a 3 hour drive from Santiago, at the far northern Haitian border. We only stopped for a couple of pictures because we were on our way elsewhere. I plan on going back when I have some time....

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[Kip]

And, @Stewmuse - I believe my January schedule is wide open, although remember the lesson learned last year...most of the cigar operations are closed from mid-December through mid- to late-January.

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[Stewmuse]

And, @Stewmuse - I believe my January schedule is wide open, although remember the lesson learned last year...most of the cigar operations are closed from mid-December through mid- to late-January.

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That's cool... and not a problem for me. If it works out that I can come again, I'd be fine with even more time spent on the service side of things. Just being there with you, Nick, your fams, William, and Gregorio was pretty rewarding and I'm sure would be so, again. My wife is about start a new job so lots of life's normal ways are up in the air right now. I'll be in touch, one way or the other.

[Kip]

We realized the absurdity of this story lies not in the story itself, but in that it all seems normal to us now.


Major fire in Cotui

A fire broke out at the Super Yoma Commercial Center in Cotui at 6:30am on Monday, 15 August 2016 affecting several businesses, including a Banreservas branch.

Passers-by raised the alarm after seeing the smoke, and called the local fire brigade, which reportedly arrived without any water in the fire truck and had to go to the River Yuna to fill up.

Firefighting teams from San Francisco de Macoris, Fantino, Jima and La Vega were then called in, with the first to arrive being the brigade from San Francisco de Macoris, which tried to control the fire while the Cotui brigade was still at the river filling up the truck.

[Stewmuse]

They just need a circus soundtrack... or to be filmed in black and white and have the reel sped up on playback.

[kurtdesign1]

They just need a circus soundtrack... or to be filmed in black and white and have the reel sped up on playback.

Benny Hill music. Done

[Kip]

I thought I'd start dropping a few thoughts back into this thread, as I've mostly ignored it for a while. At times, I like to go back through and check out some of the happenings during my time here.

I was pounded with being humbled the past few days, the first being at the medical clinic. There's a little boy in the mountains we call "El Presidente" - because he is a talker; he's never met a stranger, just friends he doesn't know yet. He's like a politician in that way. Secondly, because I can't pronounce - let alone spell - his name. I had been chatting with him Sunday while he waited to see the doctors and noticed he was wearing a "Holistar" shirt. There are many, many knock-off brands that appear on clothes here. I've gotten good laughs from some (Holsitter, Airopostal, etc.). While I was talking to him and noticing the shirt I was embarrassed for every one of those laughs. Of course, I'd never say anything publicly to someone wearing such a shirt...but they have struck me as funny at times. As I talked with him, I realized the gravity of his lot in life moreso than even in my normal day-to-day. These were probably the best things he owned, dressed for the clinic. A knockoff shirt, ill-fitting pants and shoes that barely clung to his feet because they were clearly not procured for him personally. Despite my curmudgeon-ness, I tend to believe I'm somewhat compassionate - yet in the moment I realized the full brunt of asshole arrogance that I carry around in my head. I might as well have been unexpectedly punched in the breadbasket. It was that tangible. I came home that day still ashamed of my thoughts, even though they'd not been made manifest in word. Lesson learned.

Then, yesterday I saw via friends-of-friends-of-friends that another of my high school classmates had passed away. I haven't seen her in over 25 years, and never really knew her during the years we spent in the same school. Yet, she had a number of humiliating nicknames that all came back to me when I saw the news - which I didn't create, but certainly fortified them, the way school kids do. Even knowing I was a hick schoolkid then, and I'd not participate in that kind of thing at 43 years of age, I hate the fact that those are the memories I have. I hate that if she had any memory of me that's what it'd be. It's a little thing, but has really knocked me on my heels.

I'm not one to carry around undue guilt or remorse. I try to learn from my mistakes and let them go. I reckon I'll just go forward with hopefully a little less jackwagon in my nature.