"The craving for alcohol has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to suggest is total abstinence. Much has been written, pro and con, by physicians, but the general opinion is that most chronic alcoholics are doomed." The Doctor's Opinion, more or less. Might be a little Seaweed rewording going on as well.
Chronic: Persisting for a long time or constantly reoccurring; long-lasting and difficult to eradicate; a chronic condition does not go away quickly or easily.
When I travel I like to talk to the people who live in the place I'm traveling to. While this sounds pretty fucking obvious it can be a little stressful, a little uncomfortable, to interact with people who are often quite different from myself. It's quite common for people traveling together to congregate in a tight group. among themselves, comparing notes on what it's like to be in a foreign environment while avoiding dipping into the environment itself. So I'm always wandering off and talking to workers and staff and locals. One of the things we noticed was that locals like to grab phone numbers. Being a suspicious son of a bitch I often wonder why? Is it prestigious to have the phone number of a big-shot American? Have I actually touched someone in a meaningful way? And, of course, there's the possibility that someone is going to try to gain from this financially or to leverage an American contact into something beneficial.
See what you think . . .
SuperK spent some time hiking one-on-one with an assistant guide who was trying to further her education and mentioned applying to schools in the U.S. Really haven't heard from her.
A guide from The Gambia that I stayed close to during our rainforest hike because he was such a fountain of knowledge. He struck me as a bit of a player, a guy whose good will was perhaps masking an ulterior motive. I exchanged some messages with him - he always refers to me as "my brother" in our exchanges - of a bland and inoffensive nature until he mentioned that he bought a car to help out in his tourism business - a car lacking an engine for which he requested a donation of five hundred dollars. Personally, I would think that the engine would be the most important part of a car but maybe he found a non-engine car with some rehab potential. I deferred for a bit before telling him I would not be able to help him at this time. He responded with grace and good will and we'll see where we go from there. You know, the guy might have just been taking a shot. Good for him. That amount of money would not cripple my finances so I may help out at some point.
A young woman on the ship from Thailand with whom I developed a close bond. She's twenty-four years old, working on a boat with few of her countrymen, missing the women in her life who are in the interior of Thailand - grandmama, mama, sister. I asked after her father and she was vague - he lives in Bangkok, far from her home, and she didn't offer any other details or mention him at any point. She would scoot away from her station to give the both of us hugs and then hang around for a bit, smiling, bashful, looking back and forth at the two of us, before getting back to work. I have been texting with her. She has asked for nothing. She calls me dad. I don't know about this at all but I feel like I touched someone. I realize that I can be of service by "seeing" someone for who they are instead of the usual official politeness that most guests provide.
A young guy that I talked with who was manning a coffee stand servicing one of the jungle hikes we took asked for my number. He calls me uncle and SuperK aunty and expresses a suspiciously great loss that he doesn't get to see us any more. I'm hopeful my attention was welcomed but I sense that he's angling for something. He's called a few times using the WhatsApp app which is unusual but doesn't mention why he's calling. I'm keeping him at arm's length. I feel a request brewing that I'd like to avoid.
The guy who sold us some jewelry at a shop in Sri Lanka and I exchanged numbers, ostensibly because he hoped we would post some positive reviews about his business on social media. I reached out once. Nothing. Then, several days later, three pictures of his family. I loved it
No comments:
Post a Comment