Another New Friend

I am still out wandering around when I can. This day, my purpose was to get my haircut since it has been warming up more and I am getting shaggy, but along the way I met a new friend. I had gotten off of the bus since I was over an hour early, and decided to explore a new part of town. As I was walking up a street, an elderly man was sitting in his doorway talking to a man going by. I was just going to walk by when he made the comment that I looked like I was thinking too hard. Of course I had to stop.

He is either Creole or Garifina, I can’t tell the difference. He informed me that life was too short to be so serious, and the philosophy started to flow. He was such a happy-go-lucky type of guy despite being totally grey, wrinkled, and in a wheel chair. I think it is his attitude that has kept him going. He told me that WAY back in his life he had had a chance to go to Brazil with a couple of friends to start a cattle ranch. His decision was to stay in Belize because that is where his family is, he loves the country, and it is where his umbilical cord is buried. He laughed then and explained that where his cord is buried is where he is supposed to die. I have a feeling that it will be quite a while before his time is up here.

I had such fun talking with him that I spent all of my extra time with him. I had to really hurry to get to my appointment. I promised him I would stop by again to visit. Since there is only four weeks left I had better get there this week for my next dose of wisdom. I wish I could record all of his words; they really do pack a punch in the positive attitude arena. If I can get a specific statement or two, I will have to post them. Maybe this time I will meet some of his family. I could hear that someone was in the house last time, but no one came to see who he was talking to.

By the way, I did get my hair cut, dyed, and my eyebrows waxed. I would have gotten a facial but it was the end of their work day. I was just feeling like pampering myself. I even bought a couple pairs of earrings. My total bill was around $60 BZ, which is $30 US, so I figure the prices down here are pretty good. At home a haircut would be $15, dye job about $30, eyebrows about $10, and then add on earrings. The locals say everything is expensive here, but I think it is because the average income is so low. More on that subject another time.