Dear Amer, Michael, Phil, Gladys, Jimmy, Jon, and the rest:
I had planned to send something every 6 weeks, remember? Now almost three months have gone by. It was because I made a New Years' resolution to read a book some time this year and I decided it was more important on that account to read a book than it was to write a letter. Sounds like a bad excuse if you ever heard one, doesn't it? Well, I finished Three Cups Of Tea three or four days ago. Good book, about a guy named Greg Mortenson who built schools - especially including girls - in Pakistan and later in Afganistan. You may have heard of it or read it already. Greg started out to build a school in order to show his appreciation to a village which had been hospitable to him when he was coming down off of a mountain climbing expedition. That adventure led him to be the director of the Central Asia Institute which enabled him to continue doing that work; mostly building schools, but also engaging in other community development activities. I think about leaving the country from time to time and I if I did for any length of time, I would want it to be because I had some service to perform and some purpose in being there beyond just having a cheap place to live while I write books. I'm not sure I would have the tenacity to get involved in something that was as all-consuming as Greg Mortenson's job. I do admire his ability to work with people to accomplish something which everyone involved agrees is needed as well as his ability to stay on task. Now I'm reading Shot In The Heart, written by Gary Gilmore's brother about their rather unhappy family. It's a good book also, although Gary Gilmore is not exactly a life which I wish to emulate.
I'm enjoying my life in Atlanta, and I also think about making changes. Elizabeth is still here and I have a new house mate named Gibson Pickett, who I like a lot. I have two young ducks and two young chickens which I'm keeping under the deck, and in a few weeks I'm hoping to get a cat. I look forward to seeing you at the family reunion. From Chicago I am planning to fly down to San Miguel de Allende and stay for about a month. I still haven't purchased tickets or told my boss at the hardware store that I'll be going, but I'll be needing to firm up plans soon.
Here's a poem, translated from the Spanish:
Your Lily eyes Said Yes
Your lily eyes said yes,
Your rosy lips said no.
When beside you dying I found myself,
Your lily eyes said yes.
Dawns burst within my breast,
Which soon were black night, oh:
Your lily eyes said yes,
Your rosy lips said no.
By Manuel Gonzalez Prada
Translated by Kate Flores
