The Winter Of Our Discount Tent

(NOTE: The internet went down Saturday during a thunderstorm and we just got it back today. I'll have some post catching up to do.)

Today we got together with a bunch of old friends and met some new ones. Lunch was supposed to be in the family courtyard and 99% of the time in January this is a perfect time for that kind of event. The weather sunny and dry and it's in the mid-70's. This year we saw some torrential rain and even a little hail and the temperature was in the 50's.

Clouds produce rain but the power lines don't deliver power.

There are certain items that you can find anywhere in the world. Coca-cola cans, those plastic lawn chairs that break if you try to lean back in them, and blue polyester tarps. Only two of those three were found at lunch time. The chairs work great as long as you don't try to lean back on them and the tarp is excellent at sheilding you from rain as long as you aren't near the edge where the water drips down or towards the middle where the creases have caused it to crack. Oh well, we still had a great time with friends and a real home-cooked Assamese meal, even if we were a bit soggy and everone had a blue tinge to them from the light filtering through the tarp.

There's a power outage in the rural areas so our indoor meeting was lit by a single kerosene candle contraption. I think I inhaled enough smoke from it that I've lost 40% capacity in my left lung. That still left me 60% for conversation and laughter, more than enough if you're with the right people and I was. We were late leaving for town and it was pitch black in the middle of nowhere when we had the flat tire. Getting out of the back of the vehicle someone slammed my finger in the car door. The upside is that you should always have hand sanitizer in your pocket and no matter where you are in India, within 200 yards you will find a shack selling an odd assortment of items. That means you can clean your wound and if you have ten ruppees, you can buy five bandaids. Watching the ingenuity of an Indian changing a tire with none of the proper tools and getting it done in record time provides enough entertainment to take your mind off the pain.

Tomorrow I'll be going to church with these same friends and then I believe we're going to see some old ruins and a fort left from the British colonial days. We'll see what actually happens as in India, the key to happiness is to always be flexible. Actually, I think that's one of the keys to happiness no matter where you are.

 

Posted with Blogsy