Farewells

Last evening the Internet was down and so here is this blog's first morning post.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Jack and Linda. It was their day to return home.

First they took a last wistful look at the beach they were leaving. With their permission I post the above photo I took from the poolside restaurant where I had just finished breakfast. Below is a collage that includes, at left, the original photo from which the above was cropped ...

Then they posed for a parting shot ...

From the Montreal weather reports I've heard, there's no way I'll be wearing short pants on our return flight. Next, the condo agent asked if we'd like him to photograph the four of us ...

He did well.

Packing the taxi.

... and away they went.

Carol and I prepared for the meeting at the Kingdom Hall and on the sidewalk, as we approached the Hall, I took the photo below. Things to trip over on the streets of Zihuatanejo are more than abundant as commented on at length in last year's blog. But this assemblage of steps, angles, slopes, protrusions, and warps takes the cake. It is thoroughly unwalkable and one must take to the road where risk of injury is less.

The only missing feature is a camouflaged

pit. And I may be wrong about that.

An interview during the Service Meeting.

During the discussion of the Bible reading highlights I put my hand up repeatedly. The young brother handling that part kept calling others, undoubtedly because he didn't remember my name. After the meeting the brother behind me said, "I'm going to give you an 'A' for effort in trying to give a comment." Then he asked me to tell him what I had planned to say. I thought it was quite nice of him even to remember this an hour after the fact.

So I told him, and I'll tell you too. In Genesis 40:15 Joseph describes the unjust treatment he suffered to a man he thinks could help him. He says he was "kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews." What he does not say is that he was kidnapped *by* Hebrews and, in fact, by his own brothers. But he refrained from saying anything to dishonor his people or his family. It is an admirable example of handling injustice. Do and say what is necessary to try to remedy matters but do not needlessly dishonor people you are a part of by divulging details to strangers who do not need to know.

After the meeting we said our goodbyes to the many friends we have come to know here. Then a few of us went to a particularly good sidewalk restaurant for eats.

Wayne Bourdin started with Aztec soup. Following his lead I tried it as well. Jumpin' Jiminy, what a delicious soup! I am delighted not to have missed that! I wish I knew about this treat weeks ago.

And now our final full day in Ixtapa is unwinding. It has been a wonderful, stimulating, learning experience.

And so it goes.

Quote of the Day:

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” 

- Henry Miller