Hello USA

Disclaimer: Views presented in this blog are those of Roger German.  They do not represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Peace Corps or the Government of the United States.

                It’s Thursday in…and here my mind refuses to connect for just that instant…where am I?...Jupiter, Florida.  Saturday night I had taken the overnight bus from Belize City up to the Cancun airport, a wonderful improvement over the multiple lines and transfers of the past.  Might have dozed some on the bus, but not much, and arrived at the airport at 5:15 a.m. for a 10:05 flight.  Had some breakfast when a restaurant finally opened, then waited to get my ticket and process through the metal detectors and liquid and gel searches.  It is quite a world we have made.

                Landed in Ft. Lauderdale and there was Tracy, lovely as ever, greeting me like some kind of returning hero.  I know that not to be true in any sense of the word, but we have shared an adventure that few have had the opportunity to know, and we cherish those memories.

                We drove to the townhouse and it took me until the next day to pick up on some of the little touches Tracy had made to welcome me home.  I saw the Swisher Sweet Perfectos, and she’s really no fan of cigars, saw the Cheetos (crispy) in the pantry, tried to figure out the phone she bought for me, but I didn’t notice till later that she had hung pictures of my kids in the stairwell photo gallery midst all the Hodson photos, and she borrowed a guitar from her daughter so I’d have one to play until I reclaimed my Martin.  That’s Tracy being Tracy.

                And now it’s Thursday, Tracy’s at work, and I’m trying to process this latest transition.  How I got from Sunday to now, I’m not exactly sure.

                We’ve been working together through a final edit on her book and that is going really well, but I realize that I haven’t fully landed yet, and have realized that it will probably take a while.  I thought that would be the case, but thinking that and living it are not the same thing.

                The dentist office where Tracy was hired part time as a hygienist overbooks her.  Of course Tracy doesn’t complain about it, and is happy to step up to the plate and get the job done.  The dentist overbooks because sometimes people don’t show up for appointments, and she doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to make more money.  It’s pretty simple.  When Tracy was cleaning teeth in the village of Succotz, she was also usually overbooked.  People there in their 40s had never had the opportunity to have their teeth cleaned, so they would line up at the clinic as early as five in the morning.  And even though it had to be extremely painful and they were spitting blood into a garbage can with a plastic liner situated between Tracy and the dentist, they never complained.  Tracy would work late until the line finally abated and she could go home.  The dentist wasn’t paid and of course, neither was Tracy.  If the people could afford it, they were asked to pay something to help keep the clinic open. 

                I walked pretty much everywhere in Benque.  Today, I walked to this restaurant near the townhouse.  But it’s about all I can walk to.  I had some romantic notion of cutting back on driving, fuel consumption, transportation expenses.  As the fog clears, I realize that in the hustle and bustle of our culture, there is little room for such romantic notions.  Conservation of resources is a Madison Avenue concept, packaged and sold at a profit, but not something that any serious developer considers.  We drove into Jupiter on I-95, six lanes wide going north, six lanes wide going south.  To go from any housing area to where services are available, where there are grocery stores and pharmacies, requires driving to giant parking lots and walking then into bland malls that look remarkably the same under the extravagant facades, with the same chain stores selling the same brand name merchandise as any other city in America.

                People all over the world think that they want what we have here.

                But they can’t have it.  There’s not enough to go around at our level of consumption.  And for now, we have it.  What is sad is that what we have that is truly valuable, we seldom export.        

                We ate breakfast at a restaurant this morning…it’s another day, and I’ve been mulling over what it is we have here in America, where I left off writing yesterday.  And I felt it there, in that restaurant.  It’s our can-do attitude.  It ties into our freedom, true, it’s rooted in that, but it’s nurtured with the sun and spirit of optimism.  I loved living in Belize, but the spirit I felt in one random breakfast joint in southern Florida was little to be found in Belize. 

                There are problems here in the US of course.  There are problems everywhere, as that is life.  But this place, this America, it’s really something.  That’s still true.  Despite the excesses, there is an irrepressible spirit here, a good spirit of optimism and hope.  Don’t let any gloom and doom prognosticator tell you otherwise.

Comments

[Fort Fey]

Me thinks you are a hero in the eyes of the many you have helped over the years. I, personally, look forward to some well placed reminders that we live in excess in most every aspect. Your pics with Tracy's, as well as el Chicelero, kept those thoughts clearly for us.
Welcome back. Elections are in force. Rant at will.

[Rg]

Who is Will, and why should at rant at him?

[fort fey]

ok now we know for sure, you're baaaaaack!

[Terese (Abler) Brown]

Welcome back to the States, Roger! I have certainly enjoyed your words of wisdom and reminders of how much we have and take for granted. I hope you will continue to post your comments and opinions about whatever is happening in your life and in the world.

[Kathy]

Welcome home friend. You said it all so well. And of course, exactly as you said, Tracy was truly being Tracy. You both are amazing! And yes, heroes as well. Can't wait to see you both again.