Ironing

I woke up early this morning with the loud pounding of hammers and the high pitch sound of ceramic skill saws next door and as I sit I can hear the singing of the workers just over the dividing property wall which is topped with shards of broken glass. After a cold shower- a nice shock to the system- and some fresh bread with cheese and a piece of juicy papaya I moved my computer outside to talk to the maid. Yep that’s right. The pastor’s wife has a maid, but mind you it is not what you are thinking.
I was surprised in fact to find that the “Mesquito” family has a maid. To any american their household would seem humble at best, the only redeeming quality being the assorted variety of fruit trees and exotic tropical plants in the back yard. As I sat eating my breakfast the maid started up a conversation with me from the back porch. So I moved outside and discovered a nice breeze that took the edge off the oppressively sticky heat. I’m sitting here talking to her now, trying to keep the tiny ants from crawling into my computer. I think I succeed in diverting them by leaving them a little treat in the form of my empty coffee cup.
As we chat about the birds, and the fruit in the back yard she is busy ironing the clothes. Now this is quite the site for various reasons. For starters, have you ever ironed your clothes on the back porch? And she uses the table outside as her ironing board as she irons almost every article of clothing down to the t-shirts. She’s quite good at it and is chatting away about the fact that this particular gas iron is very economical! Thats right a gas iron. I had never seen one either. but it is pretty nifty. It works much like a gas stove and hooks up to a portable propane tank. Instead of swinging an electrical cord around she fusses with a small flexible gas line and does so with easy.
She’s quite a chatter box and apologizes explaining that she doesn’t make a habit of chatting (interrupting) the “Mesquito” family.