All Those Years Ago – Yet it
Seems Like Yesterday
Somewhere
way back in time-
I
extended to you my heart and my hand.
Miraculously
you put yours in mine.
Ever
so slowly our love turned from seed,
into
a budding tree.
Oh
yes, that’s it, I remember
it
was 1993.
Over
the years our journey has taken us so many places,
opened
so many doors.
Miracles
abundant,
I
count them at least 4.
From
the backseats of open trucks, exhausted.
Stacked
on frozen chicken we rode to Mother Theresa’s…
Washing
feet in the foot hills.
Burning
busses near City Soleil,
it’s
been our adventure all the way.
Playa
Grande, Ricardo, fried fish and tostones, empenadas with the Presidente.
Hogar
Luby, Chucho, guaguas, La Sierna, Nacional, and so many, so many more.
The
Dominican Republic and Haiti were most generous to us.
Everyday
a dream come true,
I
could never forget all the places we went.
But
there is one story, one journey that stands out the most. Maybe it is because it was the very beginning
of our new adventure. But I think it is
a perfect story that illustrates everything that I love about you.
We
had just spent New Year’s Eve in Batey Libertad, it was an explosive night to
say the least. As we sat in the iglesia
neither one of us knew what an amazing year we had ahead of us. I was just worried about making it through
the night. But make it we did.
New
Years Day we ventured into Santiago to continue our journey, this time our aim
was Cadillo. Except after we waited for
what seemed to be hours, we learned that there weren’t any guaguas running to
Juncalito that day.
It
was still early and we decided that it was best that we go back to the North
coast to maximize our remaining time.
After all, we had made a good effort, a really good effort to try and
get to see Fella, but it just didn’t work out.
Back
up North we went, we were lucky enough to catch the only guagua that was going
to breakdown along the way. But we
finally made our way back to Cabarete and to Tedy’s place. In the midst of paradise we went for dinner, except,
for you paradise was incomplete.
Paradise doesn’t come so neatly packaged for you, it never has. We couldn’t miss the chance to see Fella.
Back
up early the next morning, back to Sosua…
Caribe tours (yes it does). Back to Santiago, back to the guagua
station. This time it seemed we were
going to meet the same fate, no guaguas running. Except we found one, after a wait… Somehow this is what more closely
approximates your paradise, running all about the country, no sure bets, no
map, just the kindness of the country and its people.
Up
in the mountains of Juncalito, wondering how crazy we are. By we I mean (you).
We
started the long, uphill walk. Did I
mention it was all uphill?
With
one bottle of water we set off (it was like you were drinking for two people).
We
three walked (only we didn’t know we were three).
A
quarter mile in, our water gone, and you were done. You were ready to turn around, now we’d made
the appropriate effort. Now we could
re-trace our steps.
Except
we didn’t, we just took one more, one more and then the next.
For
my part I got two bags to carry.
Mind
you this was a walk that campesinos would laugh at us for struggling with.
Onward
we went; we only knew we were getting closer when we ran into Negro. Who was kind enough to tell us that Fella had
gone to Santiago.
What? Did he just tell us that the person we’d come
all this way to see, was in the place we just came from? Of course, only in La Republica.
Of
course it doesn’t matter. It will all
work out, it always does.
Christian
was kind enough to welcome us. It was a
good thing we brought dinner.
Dotti
– Mami is coming back home, Christian kindly told us. As always things work out.
Soon
Willy and Fella were home, of course we ate again.
As
we pulled the brand new covers up that night, after passing on a night cap.
I
couldn’t help but know in my soul, this is the definition of adventure and I am
the luckiest man to have ever lived to share it with you.
