morning walk -- what five minutes will yield

my morning stroll is usually as peaceful as running with the bulls; however, today was a special day...unlike most days where i play frogger and angry chickenbus and microbus drivers play ´hit the gringo´, today was relatively chill. the catholic school down the street was just getting started and the bike venders had their packaged sugar items and ice cream to pawn on the youth -- which im sure the teachers love, fireworks were going off for some youngsters cumpleanos and of course the street was as covered in trash as usual. i cannot stress enough the importance of color in guatemala -- everything is painted brightly and with a better than the jones´vibe in some parts. so, i took a side trip this morn down a small alley where i passed the morning barracho, overly intoxicated oldtimer that found leaning 27 degrees to the east was optimal for his breathing. this cat was out and dogs had licked him recently because the morning light shimmered on his leathery skin and i could see grease in the lines of his rinkles. he had a tan overcoat which was in direct contrast to the bright orange wall he leant against.

this fella had seen better days, no doubt, but at least this morning he was a treat for the young scholars in matching bright red sweaters and grey pants that used his pretzeled legs as hurdles to cross in preparation for future olympics...for sure.

as i swung a left i came upon a 70-year-old woman pounding a torquoise wall with her cupped hand while balancing a ball of something wrapped in a traditional blanket on her head. yall, i mean pounding on tha wall. the echo trickled through the street and of course the plethora of lonely and underfed dogs were loving it cause they could join-in. so, here is this elderly woman wearing traditional dress, balancing a bigass ball of something on her head and pounding a bright tourquoise wall at 6 something in the morning and not another soul in sight. the kicker is, she sees me, pauses and gives me a big grin and then continues with more fervor and as i pass i realize that she is pounding the wall right were ´trucha´has been graffitied...i really need to buy a camera.