Nothing ahead to look forward to, and nothing behind you want to remember?

04 December 2007

OK I have stopped feeling sorry for myself. I haven't, actually, but nobody cares so what's the point.

Currently I struggle building this website in Lan houses, and borrowing tourists' cameras to snatch glimpses of our progress. As we go along you will see the difficulties inherent in such a hotpotch method. Everyone close to me has warned me to wait until I have a computer and camera, at least, to give us even a reasonable chance of success.

But I have this thing about STARTING. Just the act of starting creates its own energy. I can stay forever in the thinking and planning stage, where it's quite fun, and kid myself that I am making progress. But after the basic idea is on paper, if I don't simply start I am wasting precious time.

Sure I'm not ready, but we can iron out the bugs along the way. And to start in public, like this! is quite some motivation to succeed, believe me. As we travel along the path we call Project Palhaco I hope to DO what a whole heap of motivational guys just WRITE about.

So, on with the Project!

It blows me away that these kids have NEVER had a shower. They make do with a bucket of cold water. In 2007?

First day I was here Daniel took the whole 7 kids [in Palhaco's family] to a neighbourhood waterfall, stripped them all naked and bathed the lot. Including Idean, 17!! That's him below. When he returned, I stripped them all again, put their clothes and bedding in a pile and burnt them in front of the house. Then I took them all to the doctor and dropped 100 bucks on creams, pills etc. Next step is the dentist, rather urgent but beyond budget at the moment. I got Daniel to explain to the parents that I wasn't interfering with the way they bring up their children, I was just taking over. Haha.

Well, just hang in here with us and you'll see a lot more such affirmative action. Daniel is a calm person [I'm not], he will stand in the middle of some cosmic disaster and extract a smile from everyone. I'm useless, I try to put it back in the bottle.

I close with an anecdote Daniel hates. It embarrasses him every time I tell it. By the way, I figure you have worked out by now that this is Daniel's project, I just do the blog, he saves the world.

Anyway, the first night I got him - that will be a later blog, you'll need to stock up on tissues - I was staying in the Hotel Regina in Catete, Rio. Arrived 10pm and Daniel, exhausted, went straight to bed.

Next morning I wake him and point him towards the bathroom - quick shower before breakfast. They have a great spread in this hotel. [Was that a free plug? Hmm.] After half-an-hour Daniel finally pops his head out. "Hurry up and get dressed," I say, "we'll miss breakfast."

"OK, just a minute," he says - and disappears back into the shower.

Another 20 minutes pass, and a half-drowned brat reappears at last.

"Get some clothes on, hurry up! Man, we only have minutes now."

"OK, OK," he says, "but just a minute, OK?"... and he heads back to the shower.

"Whoa!" I manage. "What are you doing?"

He looks at me. "Don't you know?" he says. He grabs me by the hand. "Come here, I'll show you," pulling me into the bathroom.

He turns on the shower. "Look!" he says, putting my hand under the shower. "Hot water!"

Now how do you react to that? The kid was thirteen years old. I did the only sensible thing, of course. I went and pigged out on breakfast and left him to drown himself at his own leisure. One must have priorities.

If you ever come down here and meet him - and why not? - throw the shower story at him and watch him squirm. Well, I can't fill your past with fond memories, but why not come aboard the Quest - you will soon be so damn busy you won't remember the time those empty days stretched away forever in front of you.

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    Increase the quality of life. Right a wrong. Prevent the end of something good.

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