Ron made his triumphant return to Hopkins 6 hours after I wrote that he should be here in the next day or 2. He actually did leave 2 weeks before but, because of Tropical Storm Matthew and other heavy rains, he was forced to spend days in several locations because of flooding and bridges that had been washed away. That happened mainly between Tampico and Veracruz. He was also “taken” by Mexican police to the tune of US$400 or so for various “traffic violations”. So he was pretty broke until he got to the Belize border and could hit an ATM (Belize bank ATMs don’t have the fancy Visa logo on them so they are only good in-country). After the internet I went to the lagoon to fish and told Peter of the Ron related emails that I’d received and that he should be here in the next day or 2. Peter said. “Better yet he’ll be here tonight because I just talked to him.” Ron drove directly to Kismet to let Peter and I know he was home. He arrived in a beat up 1982 Mazda pickup that was carrying far over the estimated load capacity of the truck. To counterbalance the load in the back he actually stored some very heavy steel tools under the hood to keep the front wheels in contact with the road. So we all sat and talked for an hour about his trip and how he almost became part of the Mexican highway system when he nearly drove into a car sized pot hole. Remember my recounting looking into several on my recent trip to Houston to see if there were any cars or small trucks in the bottom of the craters I passed? He did however bend a rim and flatten a tire as he swerved to miss it. He said there were 6 cars just passed the hole that had blown multiple tires because they weren’t quick enough to see it. After a while Ron said he was hungry so we headed to Rainbow Chinese because he said he’d been jonesing for “good fried chicken” the whole time he was home in Nebraska. That boy has definitely turned Belizean if that’s all he was dreaming of! Fried chicken dinners come start at BZ$6 (1 piece) and go to BZ$10 (1/2 chicken) and he bought the biggest. He’s normally a light eater so it was funny to see him attacking the portion he ordered. And he finished it too! He spent the night at Kismet and Thursday morning Peter and I followed him home and helped unpack his treasures. Good thing he stayed at Kismet too because he couldn’t unlock his door and had to break in. Breaking into a home in the dead of night anywhere, even your own, is risky because you never know when a neighbor is looking out the window and calls the cops. Since there are no addresses here in Hopkins no one has ID that shows where they live. AND the constable in Hopkins is new so he and Ron have never met. I’m sure it would have gotten straightened out after a while but it’s not something you want to be dealing with at midnight. We’re glad he’s home now and he says he is feels no need to ever go back to the states. He jokingly told his ex-wife not to die because he wouldn’t be there for the funeral. (They are on very friendly terms. She actually takes care of his U.S. finances and wire transfers his social security check to his Belizean bank.)
I’ve booked my Christmas trip to Orlando. I’ll be headed there on December 21 and return to Belize on January 2nd. It’s all the time allowed by government regulation n order to keep following the Visa process to gain residency status. You aren’t allowed to be out of the country for more than 13 consecutive days. And since I want to restart the process, delayed by my Mexican fiasco with my brother Dave in July, I need to follow the rules. You can apply for residency after 1 year of entering the country. So, I’m looking forward to my shortened holiday with my kids with great anticipation!
We had a cold front pass through today (wow it’s down to 75 instead of 90!) so I thought it would be a good day to make a big pot of chicken soup. I’ve had a hankering for soup since Ron mentioned that he made a pork neck bone soup the other day. So I biked to Middle Store and picked out a whole chicken. I normally only buy breasts or thigh/leg portions but I though a while one would be better in the pot to make my starter stock. On opening the package I decided that I’d only need half as the whole was too big for my pot, even though I picked the smallest chicken I could find. The neck was still attached so I cut that off. Anyway I went to the backside and started pulling out the “extra” meat they normally stuff in. Out came the gizzard, heart, and liver. And what to my surprise…both feet! Not something you find in U.S. chicken packages! Thinking about my wives and the reaction they would have had to finding the feet inside made me laugh. I’d have been picking the feet, and the chicken, off the floor followed by trying to calm them down. In Belize you can walk into almost any grocery story and find whole 5 gallon paint type buckets filled with chicken feet and pig ears for sale. They are a regular staple here with red beans and rice. I’ve never had them before…I don’t think. I never ask what’s in a dish. I learned that when I was in Asia. Just eat it and, if you like it, eat more. If not then beg off saying you are full so as not to offend the cook. Anyway, into the pot the feet went. I figured that, if nothing else, they would add flavor, along with the spices. After simmering the chicken for 2 hours I added all the necessary veggies and simmered it some more. I also add egg noodles just before it finished. I love chicken soup! Actually I love any home made soup. I’ve made ham and pea, veggie (with beef stock), and 4bean soup since I’ve been here. It’s good for a couple of meals and is just…plain…good! As for the feet, they were just fat and most of it cooked off. No taste really so 2 of the 4 dogs ate them.
And life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize… As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
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