THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN ABOUT BENGUELA ANGOLA, A PLACE I WILL SOON CALL HOME!
Article by: Brendan Sainsbury, May 2007
I'm sitting, mosquito repellent in hand, on a near-empty beach in coastal Benguela, Angola's second largest city. I watch two sinewy youths practicing the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, their fluid movements and acrobatic high-kicks blending like a sort of African ballet against the rugged and dramatic backdrop.
Benguela Station
Angola - a country more famous for its landmines than its tourist drawcards - is experiencing something of a cultural renaissance. The national football team is competing for the first time in the World Cup Finals in Germany, the economy is looking up, and the chance of having a safe and memorable adventure in this former cauldron of chaos is now a distinct possibility.
Scarred by years of debilitating warfare, Angola is an isolated and oft-misunderstood traveller's destination, with few outsiders privy to its jaw-dropping scenery and vast cultural riches. But the recent cessation of a three-decade-long civil conflict has ushered in a new era of peace and reconciliation. The country's fledgling tourist industry, coupled with the pioneering efforts of its battling national football team, could soon put the country back on the traveller's map.
Places like Restaurante Escondidinho buzz with young locals practicing the kizombe, Angola's romantic and highly sensuous national dance.
Benguela sits 700 km south of the Angolan capital of Luanda. It was founded by the Portuguese in 1617 and is a former slave port and the erstwhile terminus of the cross-continental Benguela Railway. Spared the worst of a bloody civil war that reduced other inland towns to piles of smouldering rubble, Angola's second city and self-appointed cultural capital is a charming muddle of low-rise apartment blocks and sputtering motorcycles that weave deftly between Benguela's famous crimson acacia trees.
African traditions are strong in Benguela, and the sense of history is palpable, but the real highlight of this diminutive regional capital is not its paint-peeled colonial architecture nor its spectacular beaches but, rather, the Benguelans themselves. They are open and gregarious, with an infectious spirit. Their continued survival in the face of crushing adversity is nothing short of remarkable.
It's not all landmines - a brand new resort hotel near Benguela, Angola
I head slowly north from my spontaneous capoeira-fest towards a sprawling and haphazard fishing village that gives out onto the blustery Atlantic. Swinging inland momentarily I encounter the well-tilled Cavaco River valley, an oasis of green in an otherwise parched and arid desert, and the proverbial bread basket upon which this heavily populated coastal strip so desperately relies.
Cavaco is characterised by patchwork banana plantations and mud-bricked homesteads that nestle like chocolate boxes beneath tall palm trees. It is quintessential Africa at its best, an unending cavalcade of waving children, braying goats and sturdy women in floral wraps who walk to market with bowls of maize balanced on their heads.
The recent cessation of a three-decade-long civil conflict has ushered in a new era of peace and reconciliation.
In town, the attractions are notably less bucolic. Benguela is barely set up for tourism in the modern sense, but nevertheless boasts a handful of reasonable guesthouses, some decent Brazilian-run restaurants and a nascent nightlife. Places like Restaurante Escondidinho buzz with young locals practicing the kizombe, Angola's romantic and highly sensuous national dance.
Festivals are common and religious processions are almost weekly occurrences, but one of the best ways to experience the whole kaleidoscopic panorama of this region is to catch the legendary train from Benguela to its twin port town of Lobito. Rusty old cattle trucks have been hollowed out to accommodate a more lucrative human cargo, and the 30-km journey is a living microcosm of the country at large. It's a disorganised scrum of screaming babies, adolescents hanging nonchalantly from the doorways, and posses of impassive gun-wielding guards snaking their way through the passengers like imposters at a wedding.
The Benguela-Lobito train sometimes resembles a travelling market
Monday, December 17, 2007
update
So I've survived fundraising trip number four!
Barely...
Unfortunately this is not our final trip because we are approx $17,000 dollars below goal. So joy of all joys, it seems as though we'll be back out on the icy pavement in January.
I can't wait!
Truly I can't think of anything I'd love to do more.
Today is VISA preparation day. I'm in North Adams at a coffee shop waiting for a physical so that I can get a letter declaring that I am in good health. The Angolan visa is so difficult. It's taken so long to schedule all of our tests and paper work. At least Tamika and I were able to get our criminal record reports earlier today, so hopefully we're on the right track and will be saying tchau to the US very very very soon.
Our final day of fundraising in Boston was a bust. Tons of people were on the streets but nobody felt the need to stop or donate any money. Shopping was first and foremost in every ones mind. The people in both Boston and Cambridge were extremely rude and snotty. I think we made only $60 dollars on Saturday there. Yep,, it sucked.
Yesterday, on a up note was fantastic. We had yet another winter storm which dumped snow on our mountain to the extent that we couldn't fundraise or do anything so Tamika and I stayed in our warm little room and watched movies all day.
Our film festival included :
St. Elimo's Fire
Children of a Lesser God
Bridget Jones' Diary
and
A Fish Called Wanda
Yes, our choices are somewhat limited considering we have an old VCR player and can only chose movies from the IICD video library. This afternoon and into the evening we will resume our film festivities.
Ok, it's cold!
Barely...
Unfortunately this is not our final trip because we are approx $17,000 dollars below goal. So joy of all joys, it seems as though we'll be back out on the icy pavement in January.
I can't wait!
Truly I can't think of anything I'd love to do more.
Today is VISA preparation day. I'm in North Adams at a coffee shop waiting for a physical so that I can get a letter declaring that I am in good health. The Angolan visa is so difficult. It's taken so long to schedule all of our tests and paper work. At least Tamika and I were able to get our criminal record reports earlier today, so hopefully we're on the right track and will be saying tchau to the US very very very soon.
Our final day of fundraising in Boston was a bust. Tons of people were on the streets but nobody felt the need to stop or donate any money. Shopping was first and foremost in every ones mind. The people in both Boston and Cambridge were extremely rude and snotty. I think we made only $60 dollars on Saturday there. Yep,, it sucked.
Yesterday, on a up note was fantastic. We had yet another winter storm which dumped snow on our mountain to the extent that we couldn't fundraise or do anything so Tamika and I stayed in our warm little room and watched movies all day.
Our film festival included :
St. Elimo's Fire
Children of a Lesser God
Bridget Jones' Diary
and
A Fish Called Wanda
Yes, our choices are somewhat limited considering we have an old VCR player and can only chose movies from the IICD video library. This afternoon and into the evening we will resume our film festivities.
Ok, it's cold!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
BLIZZARD!!!!!!!!!!!
The snow won't stop falling.
It really won't stop!
Let's recap the day...
We began with a team meeting at 9am in the Bella Vista common room. After a long discussion regarding an impending storm we decide not to go to Boston because a severe snow advisory had be posted. Our supervisor walks in and asks us why we're not going to Boston, we explain that going to Boston today would be risky. After getting a lecture about the importance of fundraising we are told that we must go out today. We decided to go to Albany again since that city only had a snow advisory, not a severe snow advisory.
So according to the national weather service, the snow was supposed to fall by noon and would be heaviest between four and six. We decided we would head into Albany (40 mins) and then leave Albany by 3pm to be back on the mountain before the severe snow. Our supervisor was not happy that we were cutting fundraising short, but that was the plan because clearly we were the only people looking after our own best interests and well being.
We head out. All is well. The roads are clear, we are talking and making plans, then suddenly and without warning, the sky turns dark and snow begins to blow everywhere. The wind is getting crazy, the snow is accumulating and it isn't even eleven am. By the time we skid into Albany, there is already a few inches of snow. The snow is falling steadily. Not a good start!
We break off into teams and begin our door to door/ business to business work. After a few minutes we are all covered in snow. I had snow accumulation on my eyebrows, above my lip, on my eyelashes and I was soaking wet. I had on two shirts, two sweatshirts and a coat and I was wet. I had on a pair of pajama pants, a pair of sweat pants and some jeans and I was wet. We were all soaked and we couldn't figure out what was going on.
Finally, after all of the stores started closing (about an hour into our fundraising and only fifteen dollars later) we decided to head home. At this point there is about a foot of accumulation and beneath the snow, was ice, lots and lots and lots of ice. Cars were spinning out around us, the sky was dark, there was fog, the wind was blowing and we couldn't see, I'm talking zero visibility. All around us cars are pulled off to the side of the road, trucks are stuck, buses are stuck, it's chaos. Then we slide of of the road and get stuck.
Tamika is driving and the rest of us get out to push. It takes so long because we have no tread, we are pushing a van on ice. It's terrible. But miracle of miracles the van gets unstuck and we get back in and continue on our fateful journey.
We are on interstate 90, and as we drive underneath an overpass a huge avalanche of snow from a plow above comes down. This causes a white out which causes people to swerve and panic. A nasty accident unfolds directly in front of us. Two cars, collide and fall off of the side of the road onto a shoulder, but we couldn't stop because we'd get stuck so we kept on going.
A few moments later, rounding a steep curve (we are going maybe 15 mph) we spin out and we are just twirling and zig zagging and luckily we stay on the road and there were no other cars around us. So we continue.
By now, we have driven for about three hours and we're still in New York and the windshield wipers are frozen and our windshield is frozen and Tamika has her head out the window as we drive and I've got my hand out the window trying to de-snow and de-ice the windshield. It's just too much and we decided we can't handle it anymore.
We pull into a gas station and call our supervisor to see if we can get a ride. We are told no and that we would get a call back. We wait ten minutes, nobody has called, we call again and we are told that they are unable to make it down the driveway of the mountain to get us. We're all fuming, but have no choice but to continue on our unsafe path.
We get back on the road, we're driving extremely slowly and it takes us about thirty more minutes to get back to the base of the mountain. As soon as we pull off of route 43 onto the driveway we spin into a snow bank and get stuck. So out we go again, pushing and pulling and heaving and hoeing and nothing. We give up. Once again the car would be abandoned for the morning.
Eventually, after three out of five of us call consecutively to request assistance, we are picked up at the bottom of the mountain and driven to the top and are asked "oh, it's not really that bad out there is it?"
We were fuming.
This place is getting too crazy for me. I can't wait to break for Christmas. Three more days of fundraising left, three more days!
Just put my ticket to Angola in my hands and let me be off!!!!!!
It really won't stop!
Let's recap the day...
We began with a team meeting at 9am in the Bella Vista common room. After a long discussion regarding an impending storm we decide not to go to Boston because a severe snow advisory had be posted. Our supervisor walks in and asks us why we're not going to Boston, we explain that going to Boston today would be risky. After getting a lecture about the importance of fundraising we are told that we must go out today. We decided to go to Albany again since that city only had a snow advisory, not a severe snow advisory.
So according to the national weather service, the snow was supposed to fall by noon and would be heaviest between four and six. We decided we would head into Albany (40 mins) and then leave Albany by 3pm to be back on the mountain before the severe snow. Our supervisor was not happy that we were cutting fundraising short, but that was the plan because clearly we were the only people looking after our own best interests and well being.
We head out. All is well. The roads are clear, we are talking and making plans, then suddenly and without warning, the sky turns dark and snow begins to blow everywhere. The wind is getting crazy, the snow is accumulating and it isn't even eleven am. By the time we skid into Albany, there is already a few inches of snow. The snow is falling steadily. Not a good start!
We break off into teams and begin our door to door/ business to business work. After a few minutes we are all covered in snow. I had snow accumulation on my eyebrows, above my lip, on my eyelashes and I was soaking wet. I had on two shirts, two sweatshirts and a coat and I was wet. I had on a pair of pajama pants, a pair of sweat pants and some jeans and I was wet. We were all soaked and we couldn't figure out what was going on.
Finally, after all of the stores started closing (about an hour into our fundraising and only fifteen dollars later) we decided to head home. At this point there is about a foot of accumulation and beneath the snow, was ice, lots and lots and lots of ice. Cars were spinning out around us, the sky was dark, there was fog, the wind was blowing and we couldn't see, I'm talking zero visibility. All around us cars are pulled off to the side of the road, trucks are stuck, buses are stuck, it's chaos. Then we slide of of the road and get stuck.
Tamika is driving and the rest of us get out to push. It takes so long because we have no tread, we are pushing a van on ice. It's terrible. But miracle of miracles the van gets unstuck and we get back in and continue on our fateful journey.
We are on interstate 90, and as we drive underneath an overpass a huge avalanche of snow from a plow above comes down. This causes a white out which causes people to swerve and panic. A nasty accident unfolds directly in front of us. Two cars, collide and fall off of the side of the road onto a shoulder, but we couldn't stop because we'd get stuck so we kept on going.
A few moments later, rounding a steep curve (we are going maybe 15 mph) we spin out and we are just twirling and zig zagging and luckily we stay on the road and there were no other cars around us. So we continue.
By now, we have driven for about three hours and we're still in New York and the windshield wipers are frozen and our windshield is frozen and Tamika has her head out the window as we drive and I've got my hand out the window trying to de-snow and de-ice the windshield. It's just too much and we decided we can't handle it anymore.
We pull into a gas station and call our supervisor to see if we can get a ride. We are told no and that we would get a call back. We wait ten minutes, nobody has called, we call again and we are told that they are unable to make it down the driveway of the mountain to get us. We're all fuming, but have no choice but to continue on our unsafe path.
We get back on the road, we're driving extremely slowly and it takes us about thirty more minutes to get back to the base of the mountain. As soon as we pull off of route 43 onto the driveway we spin into a snow bank and get stuck. So out we go again, pushing and pulling and heaving and hoeing and nothing. We give up. Once again the car would be abandoned for the morning.
Eventually, after three out of five of us call consecutively to request assistance, we are picked up at the bottom of the mountain and driven to the top and are asked "oh, it's not really that bad out there is it?"
We were fuming.
This place is getting too crazy for me. I can't wait to break for Christmas. Three more days of fundraising left, three more days!
Just put my ticket to Angola in my hands and let me be off!!!!!!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
prrrrrrrrrrrr....
We have the most beautiful starry night today. Walking up the cold mountainside, it was hard to be bitter because the sky was so beautiful. I even caught a glimpse of a shooting star.
We were trail blazers today! So sick of inching up the icy mountainside we created our own path through the woods. It was dark, it was cold, there was a stream that we almost fell into, but we made it and we didn't slip or fall.
And now, I am in a warm lodge with a cat purring on my lap
;0)
bliss....
We were trail blazers today! So sick of inching up the icy mountainside we created our own path through the woods. It was dark, it was cold, there was a stream that we almost fell into, but we made it and we didn't slip or fall.
And now, I am in a warm lodge with a cat purring on my lap
;0)
bliss....
um hum...
Day number two of internet on the mountain :0)
Day number two of taking an ice cold shower first thing in the morning ;0(
With every victory comes defeat!
Today we will go to Albany, New York to fundraise door to door. First we are all scheduled to receive hiv/aids tests at a free clinic outside of Albany so that we may apply for our visas to Angola. Angolan visas are very difficult to obtain. We have a long list of things that we must do in order to be able to apply.
We are still in the middle of a massive ice storm. Last night, we pulled our white van approx one foot up the 1/2 mile mountain driveway expanse before it gave out and began spinning back onto the street. We were all so tired from fundraising that we just got out and left it. It took us so long to work our way up the mountain. The path was pure ice. Imagine walking on ice in slippers at a 90 degree incline, that's what it was like. We were all holding hands. I was the first to fall. I took two steps outside of the van and landed flat on my face in the snow and ice, it was fantastic!
We called for back-up to see if anyone with four wheel drive could drive down to get us and no-one could make it down the mountain. So we were left to our own devices, or left for dead depending on your perspective. Luckily, after twenty minutes of inching forward, arms linked in a human chain, with hail striking at us like missiles from the sky, our director pulled up in her jeep and was able to drive us the rest of the way up the mountain.
Everyday is a new adventure!
Today, who knows?
After the traumatizing events of last night, I had a dream. I hardly ever remember my dreams, but this one was vivid. Tamika, Makiko and I were in an unspecified country in Africa. Somehow we were all together without any luggage in a massive airport terminal where nobody spoke English, Portuguese or Japanese and there were no signs so none of us could communicate. Then we were outside on this long dusty road. It was hot and windy, red dust was everywhere. We didn't know what to do so we walked and walked and walked. Finally a person tells us to turn right at the bush and we're like what bush? Then there is an enormous tumbleweed-like biblical bush and we turn right. Right in front of us is a small hut. We enter and a lady is inside, she welcomes us to our project and takes us to a tiny dark room with one window and two cots and says this is where you'll be staying and disappears. We all look at each other and she leaves. Makiko and Tamika claim the two cots as I stand staring at the window that has no screen. What about me? I ask and they say, oh you'll sleep on the floor. What! There are scorpions, I'm not sleeping on the floor in the bush! So they push the rickety, dusty cots together and the three of us hop on and stare at each other. There is no screen in the window, we're going to die of malaria Tamika states matter of factly and then the dream was over.
Yep!
Good times!!!!!!
Day number two of taking an ice cold shower first thing in the morning ;0(
With every victory comes defeat!
Today we will go to Albany, New York to fundraise door to door. First we are all scheduled to receive hiv/aids tests at a free clinic outside of Albany so that we may apply for our visas to Angola. Angolan visas are very difficult to obtain. We have a long list of things that we must do in order to be able to apply.
We are still in the middle of a massive ice storm. Last night, we pulled our white van approx one foot up the 1/2 mile mountain driveway expanse before it gave out and began spinning back onto the street. We were all so tired from fundraising that we just got out and left it. It took us so long to work our way up the mountain. The path was pure ice. Imagine walking on ice in slippers at a 90 degree incline, that's what it was like. We were all holding hands. I was the first to fall. I took two steps outside of the van and landed flat on my face in the snow and ice, it was fantastic!
We called for back-up to see if anyone with four wheel drive could drive down to get us and no-one could make it down the mountain. So we were left to our own devices, or left for dead depending on your perspective. Luckily, after twenty minutes of inching forward, arms linked in a human chain, with hail striking at us like missiles from the sky, our director pulled up in her jeep and was able to drive us the rest of the way up the mountain.
Everyday is a new adventure!
Today, who knows?
After the traumatizing events of last night, I had a dream. I hardly ever remember my dreams, but this one was vivid. Tamika, Makiko and I were in an unspecified country in Africa. Somehow we were all together without any luggage in a massive airport terminal where nobody spoke English, Portuguese or Japanese and there were no signs so none of us could communicate. Then we were outside on this long dusty road. It was hot and windy, red dust was everywhere. We didn't know what to do so we walked and walked and walked. Finally a person tells us to turn right at the bush and we're like what bush? Then there is an enormous tumbleweed-like biblical bush and we turn right. Right in front of us is a small hut. We enter and a lady is inside, she welcomes us to our project and takes us to a tiny dark room with one window and two cots and says this is where you'll be staying and disappears. We all look at each other and she leaves. Makiko and Tamika claim the two cots as I stand staring at the window that has no screen. What about me? I ask and they say, oh you'll sleep on the floor. What! There are scorpions, I'm not sleeping on the floor in the bush! So they push the rickety, dusty cots together and the three of us hop on and stare at each other. There is no screen in the window, we're going to die of malaria Tamika states matter of factly and then the dream was over.
Yep!
Good times!!!!!!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
stormy weather, just can't get my poor self together....
I woke up this morning to the sweet smell of sewage
the septic tank (located near my door)
has had a malfunction.
I'm not sure how much more free-spirited humor is left in my frozen system.
Once again, we are in the midst of an ice-storm. The dogs were sliding all over the place this morning.
We'll head into Bennington, Vermont today, Albany tomorrow and then Boston for the week-end. That is if the weather permits. We've got a new plan. Hopefully one that will bring in enough money to sustain our projects in Africa.
the septic tank (located near my door)
has had a malfunction.
I'm not sure how much more free-spirited humor is left in my frozen system.
Once again, we are in the midst of an ice-storm. The dogs were sliding all over the place this morning.
We'll head into Bennington, Vermont today, Albany tomorrow and then Boston for the week-end. That is if the weather permits. We've got a new plan. Hopefully one that will bring in enough money to sustain our projects in Africa.
Monday, December 10, 2007
is this hell is this hell is this hell is this hell that i'm feelin???
My fingers are stiff purple sticks as I type this. It’s FREEZING! Really.
I just finished my six hour shift standing in the freezing cold on North street in Pittsfeild Mass.
Nope, I didn’t make goal today. None of us did or even came close for that matter.
We are in the middle of an ice storm.
I opened my front door today, took a step and slid right off of my porch about three feet and came to a natural slow halt.
It then took me 15 minutes to make it about twenty feet to the dining hall.
Where I could, I walked over icy snow that cracked beneath my steps. The dogs were sliding all over the place. Everything was frozen. I literally had to crawl on my hands and knees over one particularly icy patch. All this just to get breakfast.
After breakfast we slid down our half mile long driveway, narrowly missing trees, and headed into Pittsfeild to have a questionable day of street fundraising.
There were like five people out and about today and there were four of us standing on the street trying to collect money. You can do the math.
Once again, I had encounters with outpatients from the mental health clinic across the street from where I was attempting to fundraise. We were all just standing out there chatting it up. Me because, well, I had no other place to go and couldn’t get away, and they, well, who knows why the chose to yammer on and on at me?
I am so sick of fundraising.
Five days left to go until this is all over (theoretically), I hope we make it!
I just finished my six hour shift standing in the freezing cold on North street in Pittsfeild Mass.
Nope, I didn’t make goal today. None of us did or even came close for that matter.
We are in the middle of an ice storm.
I opened my front door today, took a step and slid right off of my porch about three feet and came to a natural slow halt.
It then took me 15 minutes to make it about twenty feet to the dining hall.
Where I could, I walked over icy snow that cracked beneath my steps. The dogs were sliding all over the place. Everything was frozen. I literally had to crawl on my hands and knees over one particularly icy patch. All this just to get breakfast.
After breakfast we slid down our half mile long driveway, narrowly missing trees, and headed into Pittsfeild to have a questionable day of street fundraising.
There were like five people out and about today and there were four of us standing on the street trying to collect money. You can do the math.
Once again, I had encounters with outpatients from the mental health clinic across the street from where I was attempting to fundraise. We were all just standing out there chatting it up. Me because, well, I had no other place to go and couldn’t get away, and they, well, who knows why the chose to yammer on and on at me?
I am so sick of fundraising.
Five days left to go until this is all over (theoretically), I hope we make it!
Friday, December 7, 2007
bom dia
bom dia
is it???
freezing cold today
woke up
did my yoga
tried to take a shower
the pipes were frozen
i took an ice cold shower
in a bathroom with no heat
just to go outside into the 15 degree air
i am ready for fundraising to be over
i am ready to go home for christmas
A.S.A.P.!
is it???
freezing cold today
woke up
did my yoga
tried to take a shower
the pipes were frozen
i took an ice cold shower
in a bathroom with no heat
just to go outside into the 15 degree air
i am ready for fundraising to be over
i am ready to go home for christmas
A.S.A.P.!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
no money blues!
It's freezing cold. We're in a cafe in Pittsfeild MA. Fundraising is not going well today. We spent the entire day going business to business and door to door and we haven't even made one hundred dollars. It is so difficult fundraising during the holiday season; almost everyone says they don't have the money to contribute, as if we are asking for hundreds of dollars. If everyone just gave a dollar or a quarter, how much better things would be.
Even pennies are magical.
Even pennies are magical.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Ribit!
Today was a much better fundraising day. We hit Northampton again and I must admit I like the town. The people are super friendly and approachable. And wonder of all wonders, my can was full of MONEY!!!!!
I did encounter some crazies though (of course). On the up side, they kept me company on the freezing street corner so it wasn't too bad.
One guy swore he knew me from a bar in Williamstown circa 1979. I kept telling him that I was born in 1979 but it did no good. The man was convinced he knew me from "back in the day"????
Another man kept calling me Kermit, as in the frog???? What could I do, Kermit it was, Kermit I am.
Rrrriiiiibbbbbiiiiittttt!
I did encounter some crazies though (of course). On the up side, they kept me company on the freezing street corner so it wasn't too bad.
One guy swore he knew me from a bar in Williamstown circa 1979. I kept telling him that I was born in 1979 but it did no good. The man was convinced he knew me from "back in the day"????
Another man kept calling me Kermit, as in the frog???? What could I do, Kermit it was, Kermit I am.
Rrrriiiiibbbbbiiiiittttt!
Monday, December 3, 2007
loca loca
LOCA LOCA
YESTERDAY WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS THAT WAS TOO CRAZY TO EVEN SEEM REAL. BUT IT WAS. AND I AM SO TIRED. BUT I WILL TELL THE STORY.
SO YESTERDAY WAS OUR FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF FUNDRAISING. IT BEGAN SIMPLY ENOUGH. MAKIKO, ALEXANDRE, ANSELMO, TAMIKA AND I HAD A PLAN. THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE. WE WERE TO GO TO WILLIAMSTOWN FOR A FEW HOURS TO FUNDRAISE DOOR-TO-DOOR AND BUSINESS TO BUSINESS. WE HAD A PERMIT, BUT WE HAD TO STOP IN AND VERIFY OUR PERMIT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE COULDN'T INDEED FUNDRAISE IN WILLIAMSTOWN AND THAT WE NEEDED TO COME BACK ON MONDAY TO SPEAK WITH THE SECRETARY WHO WOULD FINGERPRINT US, TAKE OUR PICTURES AND DO A FULL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK SO THAT WE COULD FUNDRAISE. CRESTFALLEN WE HAD TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER PLAN.
WE DECIDED TO DRIVE AND HOUR AND A HALF INTO MASS TOWARDS NORTHAMPTON WHERE WE FUNDRAISED BRIEFLY THE DAY BEFORE ON WORLD AIDS DAY. SO WE ARE DRIVING AND WE DON’T HAVE A COPY OF THE DIRECTIONS BECAUSE WE WEREN’T PLANNING TO GO THERE AND WE THOUGHT WE REMEMBERED THE WAY BUT TWO HOURS LATER WE WERE IN CONNECTICUT. WE TRY AGAIN, IT IS ANNOUNCED ON THE RADIO THAT THERE IS A SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT. WE BECOME NERVOUS.
WE CONTINUE TO DRIVE, I AM HUNGRY, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, THE GAS IS LOW. THERE ARE NO GAS STATIONS. WE ARE DRIVING THROUGH SMALL TOWN AFTER EVEN SMALLER TOWN ON A SUNDAY AND ALL OF THE RINKY DINK GAS STATIONS ARE CLOSED. THE GAS LIGHT BEGINS TO BLINK AND MAKE AN OMINOUS NOISE. WE ARE ALL PANICKING. I REALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND JUST AS THE CAR BEGINS TO PUTTER, WE SEE A CITGO AND WE ARE SAVED FOR THE MOMENT.
WE GET GAS, WE PEE, WE GRAB SNACKS AND WE ARE ON OUR WAY. WE MAKE IT INTO NORTHAMPTON IN TIME TO FUNDRAISE FOR TWENTY MINUTES BECAUSE IT’S A SUNDAY AND EVERYTHING CLOSES EARLY. AFTER FUNDRAISING FOR TWENTY MINUTES AND MAKING TWO DOLLARS WE DECIDED TO TRY TO FUNDRAISE SOME FOOD BEFORE HEADING BACK HOME. WE GO FROM SHOP TO SHOP AND WE ARE DENIED FREE FOOD. WE GET TO A CHINESE RESTAURANT. I SAY THE SPIEL, THE MAN LISTENS INTENTLY. I THINK I’VE MADE A CONNECTION, WE ARE ALL ANTICIPATING THE BIG YES, WHEN SUDDENLY THE MAN BEGINS TO SCREAM. “WHAT WHAT WHAT YOU WANT???” TAMIKA COMES UP TO HELP ME FOR BACK UP. WE TRY TO EXPLAIN THAT WE ARE WITH A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AND THAT WE WANT FREE DINER BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE A FOOD BUDGET AND THAT WE WILL GIVE THEM A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPT IN EXCHANGE FOR A MEAL. THE MAN GRUNTS AND HANDS US A TEN DOLLAR GIFT RECEIPT. WE ARE CONFUSED, THERE ARE FIVE OF US, BUT WE THANK HIM AND STEP OUTSIDE TO VIEW THE MENU TO SEE WHAT TEN DOLLARS WOULD GET FIVE PEOPLE…
EGGROLLS.
WE COULD GET FIVE EGGROLLS. WE GO BACK IN AND ORDER FIVE EGGROLLS, TWO VEGETARIAN AND THREE REGULAR. A LADY FILLS OUR ORDER AND WE WAIT FOR OUR FOOD. THEN THE MANAGER RETURNS. “CAN I HELP YOU??” “OH WE JUST CAME TO USE OUR GIFT RECEIPT” I TRY TO EXPLAIN. THE MAN BEGINS TO SCREAM ONCE AGAIN AND IS CAUSING A SCENE. CUSTOMERS BEGIN TO LOOK AT US. “WHAT I THOUGHT YOU WERE A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, YOU ARE USING THE CARD, I THOUGHT IT WAS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION,” EVERYONE IN THE RESTAURANT IS LOOKING AT US LIKE WE’RE CROOKS. TAMIKA TRIES TO EXPLAIN AND THE MAN BECOMES EVEN MORE IRATE. “WE CAME IN TO ASK FOR A FOOD DONATION FOR US, SO WE COULD EAT DINNER” I KEPT REPEATING. FINALLY HE GOT IT. CALMED DOWN. AND TOLD US OUR ORDER WOULD BE OUT IN A MOMENT. EVERYONE IN THE SMALL RESTAURANT CONTINUED TO STARE AT US. WE GET OUR EGGROLLS AND BOUNCE!
WE ARE DRIVING AND IT BEGINS TO SNOW. THE ROAD IS SLICK. WE ARE SLIDING. I’M DRIVING A RENTAL CAR. I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO HEAT THE WINDSHIELD. ICE IS FORMING ON THE WINDSHIELD. I CAN’T SEE PROPERLY. WE ARE SLIPPING. THE WINTER STORM ADVISORY IS ON EVERY STATION. I FINALLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE BRIGHTS AND TAMIKA FIGURES OUT HOW TO DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD. WE ARE DRIVING. GOOD MUSIC IS PLAYING. WE ARE SINGING AND LAUGHING AND JOKING.
I NARROWLY MISS HITTING A SMALL UNIDENTIFIABLE ANIMAL. BUT ALL IS WELL. AS WE GET CLOSER TO OUR MOUNTAIN, WE DECIDE THAT WE WILL DRIVE THE CAR 1/2 MILE UP THE HILL (AS WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED NOT TO DO IN THE SNOW) BECAUSE WE ALL WANTED TO GRAB OUR LAPTOPS AND GO INTO TOWN TO CHECK THE INTERNET. IT TAKES 20 MINUTES TO WALK UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. THE CAR WAS HANDLING WELL. IT SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD IDEA. I BEGIN TO DRIVE UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. ALL IS WELL. SUDDENLY AS SOON AS I ANNOUNCE THAT DRIVING UP THE MOUNTAIN IS EASY THE CAR SPINS OUT.
PANIC!!!!!!
THE CAR, THE RENTAL CAR WITH THE FIVE OF US IN IT IS SLIDING BACKWARDS DOWN A VERY STEEP AND WINDY MOUNTAIN SIDE. IT SPUN OUT AND STOPPED. WE WERE ALL SILENT. I TRIED TO DRIVE BACK UP BUT I WAS STUCK.
EVERYONE JUMPS OUT EXCEPT ME. MIND YOU OUR TWO MEN WERE FROM BRAZIL AND MOZAMBIQUE AND HAD NO EXPERIENCE DRIVING IN THE SNOW, YET THEY WERE MEN, AND MEN ALWAYS THINK THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THESE SITUATIONS. SO THUS BEGAN THE TWO-HOUR TANGO THAT BECAME OUR STRUGGLE UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.
OUR FIRST TACTIC WAS TO GET THE CAR UP. I TRIED NEUTRAL, I TRIED ONE AND TWO. NOTHING! PEOPLE WERE SCREAMING IN PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH AND I WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL PANICKING. I WAS TOLD TO TURN MY WHEELS TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT BUT THE BACK WHEELS WEREN’T WORKING AT ALL.
NEW TACTIC.
DOWN THE HILL. TAMIKA BEGAN TO CONTROL THE SITUATION. THE MEN WERE MAKING NO SENSE. I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AS DIRECTED AND BEGAN TO BACK THE CAR SLOWLY. ANSELMO AND ALEXANDRE GUIDED THE BACK OF THE CAR. PROGRESS WAS GAINED AND THEN LOST. THE WHEELS SPUN AND SCREECHED. THEN, ANSELMO, HAD THE BRIGHT IDEA TO GATHER TALL WEEDS FROM THE FOREST TO PUT UNDER ALL FOUR WHEELS TO PROVIDE TRACTION. EVERYONE LEAVES ME AND RUNS INTO THE WOODS TO GATHER WEEDS.
THE TIRES HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY WEEDS AND STILL THEY DON’T WORK. SUDDENLY I HEAR TAMIKA SAY. WE CAN’T HAVE HER DRIVE ANYMORE BECAUSE THE CAR WILL SLIDE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. WHAT I SAY?? ARE YOU ALL TRYING TO KILL ME? I’M IN THE CAR, YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE ME SLIDE DOWN THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
NO DON’T WORRY THEY ALL SAY. WE’LL SUPPORT THE CAR, JUST CUT THE WHEELS THIS WAY AND BACK UP SLOWLY AND WE’LL DIRECT THE CAR. I REFUSE.
I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DRIVE THOUGH SO EVENTUALLY I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO COMPLY WITH THEIR PLAN.
WE TANGO, UP AND DOWN, BACK AND FORTH AND FINALLY. I AM ABLE TO GET UNSTUCK AND TOGETHER, I AM DRIVING AS EVERYONE IS PUSHING THE CAR. WE MAKE IT DOWN THE HILL AND PARK THE HEINOUS VEHICLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ROAD OFF OF ROUTE 43.
NOW WE HAVE THE FUN TASK OF CLIMBING BACK UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. IN THE SNOW AND ICE. WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.
WE MAKE IT THOUGH AND HEAD TO THE CAFETERIA FOR DINNER. DINNER AT EIGHT! WE TAKE OUT THE EGGROLLS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FUNDRAISE AND IT TURNS OUT THERE WERE NO VEGETARIAN ROLLS AT ALL. I FOUND THIS OUT AS I BIT INTO MINE. THE FIRST FEW BITES WERE FINE. THEN SUDDENLY I HIT PORK. PINK NASTY PORK, A VEGETARIANS NIGHTMARE. SO THE WORST PART COMES NEXT. WE HAVE A WOMAN ON THE MOUNTAIN WHOM I WILL REFER TO AS C SHE’S OUR RESIDENT CRAZY AND SHE’S ALSO A STRICT VEGETARIAN. SHE WANDERS OVER TO OUR TABLE. “OH YOU HAVE FOOD”. YES BUT THERE IS MEAT IN IT I SAY. SHE DOESN’T HEAR OR UNDERSTAND ME AND TAKES ONE. “NO C, THERE IS MEAT IN THE EGGROLL, DON’T …” I’TS TOO LATE SHE HAS TAKEN A BITE AND TO MY HORROR SHE CLOSES HER EYES, SWAYS FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AND SAYS MMMMMM…
IT’S TOO MUCH; I CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF AND BEGIN TO SQUEAL AND SHRIEK WITH LAUGHTER. MAKIKO AND TAMIKA ARE KICKING ME FROM UNDER THE TABLE. IT’S NO USE. I AM OUT OF CONTROL.
“WHAT IS IT? WHAT’S THE MATTER?? IT’S THE MOON YOU ARE CRAZY BECAUSE OF THE MOON,” SHE SAYS BEFORE GRABBING ANOTHER EGGROLL.
I REMOVED MYSELF FROM THE ROOM QUICKLY BEFORE I WET MY PANTS AND STUMBLED HOME IN THE SNOW, COLD, WET, HUNGRY AND EXTREMELY AMUSED.
YESTERDAY WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS THAT WAS TOO CRAZY TO EVEN SEEM REAL. BUT IT WAS. AND I AM SO TIRED. BUT I WILL TELL THE STORY.
SO YESTERDAY WAS OUR FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF FUNDRAISING. IT BEGAN SIMPLY ENOUGH. MAKIKO, ALEXANDRE, ANSELMO, TAMIKA AND I HAD A PLAN. THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE. WE WERE TO GO TO WILLIAMSTOWN FOR A FEW HOURS TO FUNDRAISE DOOR-TO-DOOR AND BUSINESS TO BUSINESS. WE HAD A PERMIT, BUT WE HAD TO STOP IN AND VERIFY OUR PERMIT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE COULDN'T INDEED FUNDRAISE IN WILLIAMSTOWN AND THAT WE NEEDED TO COME BACK ON MONDAY TO SPEAK WITH THE SECRETARY WHO WOULD FINGERPRINT US, TAKE OUR PICTURES AND DO A FULL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK SO THAT WE COULD FUNDRAISE. CRESTFALLEN WE HAD TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER PLAN.
WE DECIDED TO DRIVE AND HOUR AND A HALF INTO MASS TOWARDS NORTHAMPTON WHERE WE FUNDRAISED BRIEFLY THE DAY BEFORE ON WORLD AIDS DAY. SO WE ARE DRIVING AND WE DON’T HAVE A COPY OF THE DIRECTIONS BECAUSE WE WEREN’T PLANNING TO GO THERE AND WE THOUGHT WE REMEMBERED THE WAY BUT TWO HOURS LATER WE WERE IN CONNECTICUT. WE TRY AGAIN, IT IS ANNOUNCED ON THE RADIO THAT THERE IS A SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT. WE BECOME NERVOUS.
WE CONTINUE TO DRIVE, I AM HUNGRY, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, THE GAS IS LOW. THERE ARE NO GAS STATIONS. WE ARE DRIVING THROUGH SMALL TOWN AFTER EVEN SMALLER TOWN ON A SUNDAY AND ALL OF THE RINKY DINK GAS STATIONS ARE CLOSED. THE GAS LIGHT BEGINS TO BLINK AND MAKE AN OMINOUS NOISE. WE ARE ALL PANICKING. I REALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND JUST AS THE CAR BEGINS TO PUTTER, WE SEE A CITGO AND WE ARE SAVED FOR THE MOMENT.
WE GET GAS, WE PEE, WE GRAB SNACKS AND WE ARE ON OUR WAY. WE MAKE IT INTO NORTHAMPTON IN TIME TO FUNDRAISE FOR TWENTY MINUTES BECAUSE IT’S A SUNDAY AND EVERYTHING CLOSES EARLY. AFTER FUNDRAISING FOR TWENTY MINUTES AND MAKING TWO DOLLARS WE DECIDED TO TRY TO FUNDRAISE SOME FOOD BEFORE HEADING BACK HOME. WE GO FROM SHOP TO SHOP AND WE ARE DENIED FREE FOOD. WE GET TO A CHINESE RESTAURANT. I SAY THE SPIEL, THE MAN LISTENS INTENTLY. I THINK I’VE MADE A CONNECTION, WE ARE ALL ANTICIPATING THE BIG YES, WHEN SUDDENLY THE MAN BEGINS TO SCREAM. “WHAT WHAT WHAT YOU WANT???” TAMIKA COMES UP TO HELP ME FOR BACK UP. WE TRY TO EXPLAIN THAT WE ARE WITH A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AND THAT WE WANT FREE DINER BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE A FOOD BUDGET AND THAT WE WILL GIVE THEM A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPT IN EXCHANGE FOR A MEAL. THE MAN GRUNTS AND HANDS US A TEN DOLLAR GIFT RECEIPT. WE ARE CONFUSED, THERE ARE FIVE OF US, BUT WE THANK HIM AND STEP OUTSIDE TO VIEW THE MENU TO SEE WHAT TEN DOLLARS WOULD GET FIVE PEOPLE…
EGGROLLS.
WE COULD GET FIVE EGGROLLS. WE GO BACK IN AND ORDER FIVE EGGROLLS, TWO VEGETARIAN AND THREE REGULAR. A LADY FILLS OUR ORDER AND WE WAIT FOR OUR FOOD. THEN THE MANAGER RETURNS. “CAN I HELP YOU??” “OH WE JUST CAME TO USE OUR GIFT RECEIPT” I TRY TO EXPLAIN. THE MAN BEGINS TO SCREAM ONCE AGAIN AND IS CAUSING A SCENE. CUSTOMERS BEGIN TO LOOK AT US. “WHAT I THOUGHT YOU WERE A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, YOU ARE USING THE CARD, I THOUGHT IT WAS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION,” EVERYONE IN THE RESTAURANT IS LOOKING AT US LIKE WE’RE CROOKS. TAMIKA TRIES TO EXPLAIN AND THE MAN BECOMES EVEN MORE IRATE. “WE CAME IN TO ASK FOR A FOOD DONATION FOR US, SO WE COULD EAT DINNER” I KEPT REPEATING. FINALLY HE GOT IT. CALMED DOWN. AND TOLD US OUR ORDER WOULD BE OUT IN A MOMENT. EVERYONE IN THE SMALL RESTAURANT CONTINUED TO STARE AT US. WE GET OUR EGGROLLS AND BOUNCE!
WE ARE DRIVING AND IT BEGINS TO SNOW. THE ROAD IS SLICK. WE ARE SLIDING. I’M DRIVING A RENTAL CAR. I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO HEAT THE WINDSHIELD. ICE IS FORMING ON THE WINDSHIELD. I CAN’T SEE PROPERLY. WE ARE SLIPPING. THE WINTER STORM ADVISORY IS ON EVERY STATION. I FINALLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE BRIGHTS AND TAMIKA FIGURES OUT HOW TO DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD. WE ARE DRIVING. GOOD MUSIC IS PLAYING. WE ARE SINGING AND LAUGHING AND JOKING.
I NARROWLY MISS HITTING A SMALL UNIDENTIFIABLE ANIMAL. BUT ALL IS WELL. AS WE GET CLOSER TO OUR MOUNTAIN, WE DECIDE THAT WE WILL DRIVE THE CAR 1/2 MILE UP THE HILL (AS WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED NOT TO DO IN THE SNOW) BECAUSE WE ALL WANTED TO GRAB OUR LAPTOPS AND GO INTO TOWN TO CHECK THE INTERNET. IT TAKES 20 MINUTES TO WALK UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. THE CAR WAS HANDLING WELL. IT SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD IDEA. I BEGIN TO DRIVE UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. ALL IS WELL. SUDDENLY AS SOON AS I ANNOUNCE THAT DRIVING UP THE MOUNTAIN IS EASY THE CAR SPINS OUT.
PANIC!!!!!!
THE CAR, THE RENTAL CAR WITH THE FIVE OF US IN IT IS SLIDING BACKWARDS DOWN A VERY STEEP AND WINDY MOUNTAIN SIDE. IT SPUN OUT AND STOPPED. WE WERE ALL SILENT. I TRIED TO DRIVE BACK UP BUT I WAS STUCK.
EVERYONE JUMPS OUT EXCEPT ME. MIND YOU OUR TWO MEN WERE FROM BRAZIL AND MOZAMBIQUE AND HAD NO EXPERIENCE DRIVING IN THE SNOW, YET THEY WERE MEN, AND MEN ALWAYS THINK THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THESE SITUATIONS. SO THUS BEGAN THE TWO-HOUR TANGO THAT BECAME OUR STRUGGLE UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.
OUR FIRST TACTIC WAS TO GET THE CAR UP. I TRIED NEUTRAL, I TRIED ONE AND TWO. NOTHING! PEOPLE WERE SCREAMING IN PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH AND I WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL PANICKING. I WAS TOLD TO TURN MY WHEELS TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT BUT THE BACK WHEELS WEREN’T WORKING AT ALL.
NEW TACTIC.
DOWN THE HILL. TAMIKA BEGAN TO CONTROL THE SITUATION. THE MEN WERE MAKING NO SENSE. I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AS DIRECTED AND BEGAN TO BACK THE CAR SLOWLY. ANSELMO AND ALEXANDRE GUIDED THE BACK OF THE CAR. PROGRESS WAS GAINED AND THEN LOST. THE WHEELS SPUN AND SCREECHED. THEN, ANSELMO, HAD THE BRIGHT IDEA TO GATHER TALL WEEDS FROM THE FOREST TO PUT UNDER ALL FOUR WHEELS TO PROVIDE TRACTION. EVERYONE LEAVES ME AND RUNS INTO THE WOODS TO GATHER WEEDS.
THE TIRES HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY WEEDS AND STILL THEY DON’T WORK. SUDDENLY I HEAR TAMIKA SAY. WE CAN’T HAVE HER DRIVE ANYMORE BECAUSE THE CAR WILL SLIDE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. WHAT I SAY?? ARE YOU ALL TRYING TO KILL ME? I’M IN THE CAR, YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE ME SLIDE DOWN THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
NO DON’T WORRY THEY ALL SAY. WE’LL SUPPORT THE CAR, JUST CUT THE WHEELS THIS WAY AND BACK UP SLOWLY AND WE’LL DIRECT THE CAR. I REFUSE.
I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DRIVE THOUGH SO EVENTUALLY I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO COMPLY WITH THEIR PLAN.
WE TANGO, UP AND DOWN, BACK AND FORTH AND FINALLY. I AM ABLE TO GET UNSTUCK AND TOGETHER, I AM DRIVING AS EVERYONE IS PUSHING THE CAR. WE MAKE IT DOWN THE HILL AND PARK THE HEINOUS VEHICLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ROAD OFF OF ROUTE 43.
NOW WE HAVE THE FUN TASK OF CLIMBING BACK UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. IN THE SNOW AND ICE. WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.
WE MAKE IT THOUGH AND HEAD TO THE CAFETERIA FOR DINNER. DINNER AT EIGHT! WE TAKE OUT THE EGGROLLS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FUNDRAISE AND IT TURNS OUT THERE WERE NO VEGETARIAN ROLLS AT ALL. I FOUND THIS OUT AS I BIT INTO MINE. THE FIRST FEW BITES WERE FINE. THEN SUDDENLY I HIT PORK. PINK NASTY PORK, A VEGETARIANS NIGHTMARE. SO THE WORST PART COMES NEXT. WE HAVE A WOMAN ON THE MOUNTAIN WHOM I WILL REFER TO AS C SHE’S OUR RESIDENT CRAZY AND SHE’S ALSO A STRICT VEGETARIAN. SHE WANDERS OVER TO OUR TABLE. “OH YOU HAVE FOOD”. YES BUT THERE IS MEAT IN IT I SAY. SHE DOESN’T HEAR OR UNDERSTAND ME AND TAKES ONE. “NO C, THERE IS MEAT IN THE EGGROLL, DON’T …” I’TS TOO LATE SHE HAS TAKEN A BITE AND TO MY HORROR SHE CLOSES HER EYES, SWAYS FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AND SAYS MMMMMM…
IT’S TOO MUCH; I CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF AND BEGIN TO SQUEAL AND SHRIEK WITH LAUGHTER. MAKIKO AND TAMIKA ARE KICKING ME FROM UNDER THE TABLE. IT’S NO USE. I AM OUT OF CONTROL.
“WHAT IS IT? WHAT’S THE MATTER?? IT’S THE MOON YOU ARE CRAZY BECAUSE OF THE MOON,” SHE SAYS BEFORE GRABBING ANOTHER EGGROLL.
I REMOVED MYSELF FROM THE ROOM QUICKLY BEFORE I WET MY PANTS AND STUMBLED HOME IN THE SNOW, COLD, WET, HUNGRY AND EXTREMELY AMUSED.
fundraising IV.
Happy be-lated World AIDS Day!
on December 1st, we took to the streets of Northampton, Massachusetts and sold red ribbons. It was pretty successful actually. It was also extremely cold.
Yesterday and today, we haven't had as much luck. We are in the middle of a blizzard in Western Massachusetts. We are driving through ice and snow and slush. Last night, our vehicle got stuck going up the mountain.
This is however, our last fundraising trip and it will be successful, we will make goal!
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