Coffee musings
Thursday, July 26th
Frequently when I have my coffee in the morning I think of women all around the world having their coffee -especially if I am drinking it outside, as I was this morning. I thought about Mary, the cook at Cabestor (Haiti) who makes the best coffee in the world, out there in the middle of nowhere, where women and children suffer from hunger and lack of all of the things I mostly take for granted.
Mary starts a fire about 4 am with some charcoal (made from trees and sold at the market) and then brings water to a boil. I am not sure how she makes the coffee so good; there are no filters or coffee pots to brew it. I know she has this little packet of spices that she buys at the market especially for coffee. In an effort to learn how to make coffee taste the way she makes it, I looked at the packet. It had some star anise and cloves in it and maybe a bit of a cinnamon twig. The translator was no help as he did not know the English term for the things she had in there. I am experimenting with spices but have not gotten it right yet.
By 7 am Mary has made the coffee, fried up some eggs, toasted some bread over the fire and sends it all to us up at the birth center. I am so humbled, so grateful, so aware of my privilege, so grateful we can give her a paying job but also burdened that we cannot do more. You know, whoever makes and delivers food to you deserves great gratitude, no matter where you are.
Morning in Cabestor |
Where Mary gets her water |
Where Mary lives |
Morning hymn at Cabestor - Carrie Wortham Birth Center |
This morning there are women in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh who are standing in water holding their children and meager possessions away
from the flash floods that are a result of monsoon rains. HOPE Foundation is sending
the ambulance, bought by Every Mother Counts, to pick up the sickest, the women
in labor, many of whom were raped by the Myanmar army before escaping to this
miserable camp. They would be so grateful for a cup of hot coffee.
This week in the refugee camp, Rohingya women and children lined up for medical assistance. Photo from Dr. Mahmood |
I went through a day of depression on Monday after we left
Joel and Allison and my sweet Lainey Mae and Fletcher in Missouri. I always do
this after leaving children and grandchildren and I know it will pass in a day
or two. There is no solution to it. Our children do not really want us to live
with them forever, and we do not really want to give up our own lives and
routines to move in with them. So there is joy when we are with them and love
increases. But there is great pain when we leave. Every grandmother knows this
pain.
Lainey being fierce |
Sweet Fletcher |
Lainey writing and illustrating a book. Budding author. |
Ready to bike with his Dad |
Last week leaving the Badlands to drive to Missouri we had
two long days of driving; maybe six hours each day. We stayed one night at a
state park called Newton Hills in South
Dakota and took a 3 mile walk to a watch tower after arriving. We are starting
to look for state parks as they end up being some of the prettiest places in
any state. They are usually fairly cheap – maybe $20/night with electricity
only- and we have learned we can go several days without water or sewer
hook-ups.
The night after leaving Joel’s we stayed at Clear Lake park
in Iowa. Who knew Iowa had such a lovely lake with boating and swimming and
great beauty? We loved the trees and the family camping fun that was happening
there. We really enjoy seeing so many children doing outside adventuring rather
than in front of a TV or electronic device. We are constantly amazed at how
many families “go camping” every summer. When my children were small I did not
like camping because it seemed to be so much work and I disliked being wet and
dirty all of the time. But there are ways to do it to avoid that and give Moms
a break that I did not know about.
(Clear Lake, Iowa is where Buddy Holly played his last concert before the plane crash that took his life)
We are now outside Milwaukee in a Yogi Bear Campground. This
campground has so many activities for children: pool and water slides, laser
tag at night, cartoons at an outdoor theater, crafts with Yogi Bear, nature
hikes, playground equipment, bouncy houses, and much more. I am thinking of
grandchildren again and dreaming of them coming with us some day.
We went to two Nationals games while near Milwaukee and the Brewer's stadium. The photo below shows the stadium's retractable roof. The Nationals are our favorite
team and they have had a rough year. But Bryce Harper finally came through with
a three run homer yesterday and they won one for a change.
In a stadium full of Brewers fans, the girl next to me had
on a Nationals shirt. She and her Dad were there from Chicago. They are
originally from DC area and are still Nationals fans. Sitting with them made
the game more fun although both me and Steve had to leave our seats and get out
of the sun to cool off now and then.
The Miller ball park has a retractable roof |
We have full hook-ups here so I am doing two loads of
laundry this morning. And sending some money to HOPE Foundation in solidarity
with the women I would like to share my coffee with this morning. Dr. Mahmood is
a good friend of mine who works very diligently to bring life and hope to the
women and children in his home country of Bangladesh. I have seen the work
firsthand. I lift my coffee cup to you,
Dr. Mahmood, and to all of the women in this world who labor to make and serve
coffee.
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