Thursday, March 17

    I just spent the last half hour watching a woman across the road. She had a bundle of sticks that was taller that she was, and it would take 2 of us to reach our arms around. (I hope you can picture this.) She was an older woman and very thin. She laboured to roll the bundle around on the ground, as she put ties around it, top and bottom. Can you guess where I am going with this? Yes, eventually she sat on the ground and pulled one of those ties around her forehead. She couldn’t stand under the weight of it. In spite of her tremendous exertions, she failed to rise from the ground. Finally, a young woman ran to help her to stand up. It still took some time, as her legs wobbled under the burden. When she was finally standing, with the sticks balanced on her upper back, the younger woman left. However, a stick fell out of the bundle after the first few stiff steps. Yes, she tried to bend and retrieve it. As she lowered herself, she almost collapsed, but she recovered, stick in hand, and headed off to the steep hill going up to market! You may ask why I didn’t help her instead of watching? ......... good question..........no answer.........heart-breaking.........