The Run

Yesterday, was the first day of winter (Happy Solstice). The shortest day of the year...and it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat baked the asphalt roads and hardened the red clay pathways. Blue skies were prominent and, with picture-perfect precision, white tropical clouds painted the firmament. It was a typical day in Guyana.

However, I did have some adventure in the cooler hours of the morning. I woke early, even before my alarm. The orange face of my cell phone glowed 4:15 AM and I was wide awake. This morning I planned to run to this mined out area we visited on Thanksgiving. Not knowing how long it would take to get out there, and since it was a weekday, I took my awakening as a sign that I should begin the run as soon as possible. I jumped out of bed and got ready.

A mined out area in Linden on a typical Guyana day. This is where I wanted to run too.

As I went into the road, I noticed the moon looked different, but dismissed it since it would be behind me for the entire first half of the run. The journey past the hospital, towards Watooka, was uneventful.  The darkness was thick. No lights lined the road and I’d left earlier than usual so I had no idea when the sun would rise. It was a little frightening. Then, I saw a dog come towards me. I slowed my jog and eyed him. He wasn’t having any of it. As he passed me, he quickly turned and began barking at my heels. I walked away. Slowly. The barking stopped so I snuck a quick glance around, and made sure he was well on his way. I took up my jog again.

I passed the last tree on the road and kept going. The darkness enveloped me like Death’s shroud.  I turned left towards some larger houses whose second story windows glowed like beacons. I jogged at a snail’s pace because I couldn’t see the ground in front of me and had no desire to twist my ankle. I’d been this way before, but it was much lighter last time. The first house on the left, a Bauxite executive, had a guard. I noticed him leave his guard hut when he heard the crunch of my shoes on the gravelly road. I would be suspicious too on such a dark, ominous, early morning. My legs kept pumping. I had a keen eye for dogs, travelers, and other sketchy things.  I was almost at the end of the block where the road turned to dirt and trees loomed on each side of the pathway when two dogs came out to the road and began barking furiously.

I turned around. Not today.

As I made my way back I spied the moon looking like a queer quarter moon, but I could have sworn it should’ve been full.  It looked odd: bright white on top, utter darkness on the bottom. Regardless of appearance, it followed me home, watching over me like some demigod. At one point, I slowed. I walked. Perplexed. But then quickly picked up the pace again as home inched closer.

The moon from my veranda after I got home.

I got home early, around 5:30 AM. I was out for about 50 minutes. Chelsea was just rising and then went on for her morning walk with Sara. I got on the computer, read some e-mails, and found out why the moon looked so peculiar. It was a lunar eclipse and by happenstance, because I awoke extra early, I was able to catch the spectacular sight.

I feel this story is a representation of our Guyanese experience thus far.  There is darkness because we don’t always know where we’re going, but we take these tentative steps towards the known, yet unknown. There are dangers lurking in the darkness, not just the physical dangers from being a stranger in strange land, but other dangers like failure and being let down. However, being aware, cautious, and knowing when we need to turn around and start from the beginning are skills we have to cultivate to be successful. Similarly, we have to have a thick skin and look at the little things to measure our success (I was up at 4:15; I still tried to run; and still was out for a fair amount of time).  Which leads me to my last point: the lunar eclipse. We have no idea what each day will bring. Sometimes there are these awe-inspiring, beautiful moments where it’s like “Yeah, we did that,” and we brush off our shoulders with a charming smile. There are times when new people from our community approach us and tell us how our actions, or our talks, or are seminars changed their behavior in some positive way. There are other instances where we hear from a third party that someone else, a person who may have simply been another face in the crowd, has taken our suggestions and are acting on them. Those are the marvelous moments. Yet it is not always honeybees and butterflies. There are tough times too. But we need to overcome these nadirs and move on. However, the question that begs to be asked is: will I look back upon these years as a waste of time?

Absolutely not.

Some other photos:

Christmas Kitties! Happy Holidays all!

Another shot of a hot Guyanese day. This is at Vreed-in-Hoop near Town.