David Up Close w/ the Locals

Last night was pizza night. A small place on your way to Salinas offers two for one pizzas, and if you don't want to bring any home, 8 people can eat for around $30. It's pretty good pizza also but there is only one drawback, and that is they don't serve beer?? But there is a small market across the street that sells large bottles of "Pilsner" for $.90 and the pizza place doesn't care if you bring it in. So while Suzi and the rest of them ordered the pizza, I headed for the market and returned with enough beer for the crew.

After doing our best to down the pizza and finishing the beer, I returned to the store to cash in the bottles. Outside the store was a group of 20 or so guys sitting and standing around, and as I was leaving the store I was beckoned over to join them. My gringo paranoid radar went up, and I hesitated but only for a moment, as they seemed to really want me to join the group. Some of them were drinking beers, some had cokes and some were just sitting there empty handed but with smiles on their faces. The guy who was the first one to hail me was an older chap with a funny looking Quiksilver hat on and as I walked up, he put his arm around me and started speaking rapid fire Spanish into my ear. Well my Spanish has improved a bit over the last year, but not well enough to understand any of what he was saying, so I quickly made it known that my Spanish was no muy bueno, but that didn't have any effect on this guy as he continued at 100 miles an hour. Now this was also obvious to the rest of the group and some of them came to my rescue telling the old guy to mellow out, which he did. But this break in the action only gave him time to introduce me to his son, who was about 12 or 14 and who had a smile that would light up a room. I shook the young man's hand and asked him his name but his father cut in explaining that he couldn't talk !! This didn't douse the flame in the young man's face but as I looked at him he gave the international gesture of "whatever." I then asked him (through spanglish and hand signs) if he knew sign language. The twinkle in his eyes and the glow from his smile disappeared !! He looked at the ground and shook his head no, a sure sign to me that funds weren't available in his family for such a thing. My heart broke!! This kid had everything going for him, good looks, a loving community to grow up in and a father who obviously loved him in spite of handicap. But he couldn't do one of life's most basic needs, communicate!! It was time for me to get back to the group of cruisers, so I said my good-byes to the gang which included shaking hands and exchanging smiles with almost everyone. As I walked away I couldn't help but think that some of our tax dollars that are distributed around the world sure could be used here to help a young man tackle life on a more even playing field. Just as I was turning the corner I looked back at the group and as soon as my eyes met theirs, I saw arms raised and hands waving, and I saw the young man with the beaming smile giving me the peace sign. Well I haven't flashed the peace sign to anyone for about 35 years, but I did to him. And it made me feel good also. I'm not sure why, maybe because if I hadn't gotten over the initial paranoid reaction of joining that group I would never have felt the love that was there and how they extended it to me. I'm also glad I may have demonstrated to them that some of us Gringos are no different than them, just a lot luckier in some ways!!

After I send this to Kris, I´m Googling Sign language Schools in Ecuador. Wonder if our budget could handle it???
David