A hen cackled, “I laid an
egg. I laid an egg.” Funny, at the same time a rooster crowed. I wonder if the cock a doodle was, "I laid a hen. I laid a hen." The most minuscule brown birds swarmed the Royal Palm Tree
near our front door. Once their nest was in that tree, perhaps they’ll build again;
I hope. The sun stroked the tops of trees promising more to come.
About 8 am we were sitting
in the living room having a cup of coffee, enjoying a slow start to the day. After
being out all night the dogs jumped up from a dead sleep. When dogs bark low in
a certain tone and growl, it’s human and close; if the growl turns into a growly
whine, we like the person, so we knew it was our friend and neighbor, Geri
coming up the driveway.
“Good morning,” he said in
English with a big smile on his face. “Buenas dias,” we replied. Geri held up a big bag of yams, smiled, as he
told the story of how he came upon this treasure while cleaning his land. The
words in Spanish flew past the little window to my brain before I could catch a
one, but Geri’s expressive body language gave us the whole picture.
When I asked him how to
cook this, he laughed. The idea of a woman who isn’t a good cook is incomprehensible to him. With great
pride Geri told us that he was indeed an excellent cook and then how to cook
the yams.
Geri frequently tells me
stories. He laughs so heartily when he gets to the punch line that I laugh with
him even though I don’t understand the words. Having a friend, who doesn't speak the same language, is an adventure. When the person is someone as dear as
Geri, it’s a lovely journey. Geri embodies old school Puerto Rico, the heart
and soul of La Isla del Encanto. On a personal note he reminds me of the old
school farmers my grandfather would take me to visit when I was incredibly
young.
For years I’ve been afraid
of retirement. Not having a schedule each day, or a to-do list left me feeling flaccid,
wasted. All right, I’ll say it, “Useless.” What regimented thinking! I am
learning to enjoy my day, especially a serendipitous moment like a neighbor
dropping by unannounced with gifts.
Enjoy your day, Tricia
No comments:
Post a Comment