ps-my husband won't be getting a moto anytime soon

On another shocking note, I've decided that we can measure 'how we are doing as a people/nation/community/world' by observing what happens when a stranger, alone on the road is in an accident.

This is a modern day 'Good Samaritan' tale. We found one such stranger on our way down from Santa Lucia on Sunday. A small group of men on motorcycles waved us down on the main highway. We nearly passed, but then stopped when we saw one man on the ground. They asked us for a ride to a near by public emergency clinic, which we obliged. They heaved their unconscious 'friend' into the back of our pick up and we followed them to the clinic. I looked in the rearview mirror, only to see a bloody and swollen foot sticking up with a few toes missing. We arrived at the clinic where we were cordially greeted by the security guard with instructions about where not to put the car. They finally agreed to let us in. When we did stop, I could begin to hear the groans of the man in the back. The nurses began to ask him who he was and what happened. Eventually, Guillermo and another guy lifted him out of the truck and onto gurney. Let me tell you, there was nothing tender or caring about the situation. Nobody from the clinic touched the man. He was taken to the back of an ambulance/van while his fate was decided. Please, don't mistake me for the good Samaritans in the story. I could hardly get out of the car for fear of throwing up or crying and was relieved to know that he had not died in our car. What we learned later was that the guy was a little drunk and had an accident on his way down the road. Some others stopped when they saw him there and then flagged us down. The man needed to be transported to the public hospital in Teguz, but they don't do that unless you are with a family member. This is an anti-dumping measure, I guess. They got in touch with the man's mom and she was on her way to accompany him to the hospital.

This got me thinking. So, if you get in an accident... there is no 911... so you might have to ride in the back of someone's truck to the nearest clinic.... where you will be skeptically greeted... and then only transported to the hospital if you are well enough accompanied to not be a dumping risk. What about people who don't have anybody? What if this happens to me? Of course, I'm tearfully asking Guillermo all of these questions after we leave the clinic. If you get in an accident, call a friend or family member first. Go to the best hospital you can afford that is close by.

I feel like I am more ready to learn to accept these realities with faith, rather than fear. In many ways, I think the culture of the US is insulated from the realities of life. I’m not talking about rich Americans being insulated from the realities of the world, I’m talking about being insulated from realities like death and life, hunger and need. The cushion of credit has been taken away, which constitutes crisis for many. Here there is no cushion of credit. There is income, and then expenses like food and water and shelter. I think the equation is much more simple. Also, our practices of dealing with death and sickness are much more ‘cushioned’. When someone dies, the body is taken away and handled elsewhere and the grieving process can take up to weeks. Here, there is much more actual contact and presence with a corpse and memorial processes often only lasting as long as 2 days, or as long as the body can go with out stinking. 911 is not a phone call away, but your neighbor, cousin, friend or co-worker is. There is a richness that comes from this messy-intertwined-interdepenant-i-need-you-and-you-can-count-on-me way of life.

So here is to life, the adventure that really is an adventure, to getting your hands dirty, to being ready to ask someone to give you a ride even though you might get blood on their car, to trust in the community rather than trust in 9-1-1, to a trust in God that really makes you live in faith everyday you step foot outside your door.