On the Road Again………Sisters

Doesn’t this picture make you smile?

It does me every time I see it!  That’s my sister Shar and I with the breeze in our hair having fun on our get out of town vacation.  We grabbed some time and in her new car drove to Santa Fe NM because we could. We made some stops along the way and wish we’d planned our days to spend more time in Santa Fe and Taos and less in Madrid but it was an adventure not soon forgotten….well forgotten, not sure I can say that as I am forgetting details already, but the feeling of sisterhood will never be forgotten, always fondly remembered.

You know that I lived outside of the USA for 30 years and so never had the sense of sisterhood with my two wonderful sisters and it is just now, as an old lady that I appreciate being a sister to them and them to me. (okay I have been in the US now for another nearly 30 years and that makes me…really old)

We stayed in Madrid in a  cute  little prefab house for 3 nights expecting to see more activity in the town than we did ( I bought a pretty silver ring to replace my lost favorite silver ring ) what we will surely remember there was the really awful tasting water, really stinky water, we were warned and it really will be an unforgettable  part of our trip cuz we didn’t really want to even bathe in it. One large room, a bed and a really uncomfortable couch we took turns sleeping on we were able to walk to downtown to see the shops. The Street was crowded with people here for the balloon fest in Albuquerque.  We didn’t know about the balloon fair when we planned our trip but we were in the right place at the right time and got up at 4am to get to the events.  It was worth it. Next stop Santa Fe.

My Restless Mind, What’s next?

First I painted flowers following lessons online and in books using techniques by one-step maven Dona Dewberry it was fun, they certainly weren’t botanical specimens but after gifting many I began selling them, people liked them at craft fairs. Then I started making cards with my photos and selling them too.

 

Next up, I saw the papers that my sister used to make her rocks and thought about what else could be made with the same papers.   I thought jewelry and ordered wood bangles from China when I couldn’t ‘find any suppliers in the USA, I did try..  I covered them with beautiful papers made in Japan, Thailand, India, and Tibet. and gave them three coats of varnish.  I ordered some rings from China too so they would match the bangles.  Beautiful items but our wrists and fingers are larger than those of Chinese women and we had trouble getting them over our hands without scraping our knuckles and the rings only fit to the first knuckle, (so I called them knuckle knockers).  I still have most of them, will give them away one of these days. Slight miscalculation but many pleasant hours of making.

Never one to be without a project   I started sewing little purses, I called them pursettas and I must have sewn 100 pursettas , thinking surely women would see how convenient they were, it was when we wore our mini purses hanging from our shoulders and kept our phones and keys ready for a trip to the store,  I made vertical and horizontal pursettas with pretty buttons to use for the office. Some for summer, others for winter and some large enough to carry a tennis ball.

I must have 85 of them still.  Need a pursetta?

I am an idea person but unfortunately, I have difficulty following through with marketing because if you can’t sell you should go slowly into the project and maybe start with making only a few items to test and not go crazy with this new idea. Good advice

I need to follow my advice.

For me it’s not even about making money as I often give my stuff away, you like it?  it’s yours.

I do that.

Next up I made rocks like my sister Shar but only used papers from Thailand because I loved the elegance and deep colors of the papers. Shar made these beauties and I made the next,  by the way, they are still for sale, drop me a note if you are interested, she sells them by weight and design.

Ready for more?

I ordered online classes from  Tim Gagnon to learn to paint landscapes.  I’m still working on my trees, having trouble painting realistic blooming, foliage on my trees.

 

next was a flurry of abstract paintings on canvas paper, practicing ribbon art and most lately my dots and lines that I really enjoyed making but don’t expect them to be a hot item, that’s okay I still like them any way they make a nice statement framed in a white frame.I took this photo thru the glass frame and I like how it turned out with a change of color and I bet I could change it more. I think I’ll try it with a few more of those paintings because I think it would make a cool image  on a print.( when it warms up, too cold to get out in the sun just yet)

It’s good for me to have a project that makes me get up in the morning, eager to get started.  I think besides getting prints, finding the right papers for prints, my next project will be learning all I can about living RV full-time, as time is getting short!

 

 

Life in the Rain Forest-Panama 1965-70

We flew into Panama City every few months on tiny airplanes,  (you know that if a plane falls over the jungle you will never be found, it just closes around you) my husband more frequently then I, He would bring back food and books magazines and chocolate.  It was a difficult time for me and he didn’t really understand that as he had his own devils to deal with.  When in the city we stayed in his mother’s home that was the pit stop for families in town or kids going to school.  His Mother was retired as director of a school and was the primary caregiver to two young granddaughters.

His sister lived there too and was employed by a US agency, she spoke perfect English but didn’t have much to say to me during those first difficult years.  She did us a kindness sending everything needed for a Thanksgiving dinner to El Real one year.    We were able to share it with some visiting scientists, a real Thanksgiving dinner, they were very surprised and certainly didn’t expect to have turkey on good china that  Thanksgiving!

We were married for 30 years, some were the best years of my life but there were times when I wanted to run home, I guess that happens in many marriages, especially when opposites marry and are unable to make allowances for each other.  The years in Darien were made more difficult by the cantinas.  My husband had a weakness and I didn’t know how to deal with it, It seemed there was nothing else for a man to do in El Real, drink and play dominoes. My saving grace was that another PCV gave me his peace corp library when he left Panama.  I read while he spent time at the cantina with other like-minded souls.  I had my children to keep me busy, his fathering skills were underdeveloped.  Part of his frustration was because his father didn’t allow him to use the skills he had learned in his studies at LSU so he was unable to implement new systems for the finca.  He was and is a good man and now is married to a woman he has   more in common with and I am very happy for him, we were married for 30 years before I left.

We are still in El Real at this point in my story.

This is a photo of the family home in El Real, my daughter has a watercolor painting of it and in it, it is a very elegant structure.  But by 1965 it is getting tired looking.  My daughter has the painting because she was born in this house.

My first two children were born in Panama city in a hospital,  I would live in the city for the last month of pregnancy just waiting to get this done so I could go back home to El Real with my new baby.

My second was born in the city as well but my last baby came a bit before expected and she was born at home with Carmen, a midwife from town. My brother-in-law Doctor was spending a few days during Easter and was there for delivery but doubted me when I told him the baby was ready to be born that day.    So I made preparations. Carmen and I did all the work. It went fine but for some reason tears flowed for hours after the birth, uncontrolled, just tears falling, not crying but the tears just kept rolling down, we told the kids that a big mosquito had stung me and that’s why mamá is crying. I was happy to see my Mother-in-law come to help me a few days later when there were flights after the Easter holiday.

Baby was without a name for a week while we thought of a name for this beautiful baby.  I wanted a name my family could pronounce correctly as they had trouble with Marissa and Enrique.  I wanted to name her after my sisters and tried combinations of their names Sharon and Nancy but ended up just using Nancy.  I needed help giving her the first bath because I couldn’t stand up after delivery.  I think had a subluxation of my coccyx (displaced tailbone) that corrected itself after a couple days, so a cousin gave her the first bath. Odd, I never said anything about it to the Doctor or anyone, they probably thought I was just a lazy wimp.

Carmen pierced her ears a few days later.

Notes from a Friend

I can’t seem to add a comment that was made on my facebook page or sent to my email, seems they have to be added here under comments.  so I’m adding Janet’s comment here.

Comment: Living in El Real was the most amazing experience of my life – (with the exception of birthing and raising my children, of course)! As you mention above, Bob an I spent most of our time upriver, working with the Choco Indians. We had several projects in El Real, however, the most successful being an English class. One of the students went on to work with the Smithsonian Institute, at Barro Colorado Island, attributing his ability to get the job to his English-speaking ability. He is now retired. I have seen him three times through the years since leaving Panama, and he calls me every couple months.Time: January 13, 2018 at 9:51 am

Contact Form URL: https://tailgateart-othon.com/2018/01/10/the-town-of-el-real-de-la-santa-maria-1965/
Thanks, Janet!  Got more stories?

The Mail thief, Fruit Cake, Army Cot, & my Perico .

Getting and sending mail from El Real was an iffy proposition.  It happened that my outgoing letters to the family were held up by the person responsible for the mail. He kept the money I gave him for the stamps and was found out by my friend who to happened to see them in this person’s home. I got them all back. Things like that were not unusual for me, not everyone was kind.

I lived in a small room in the hospital and slept on an army cot, it was my only piece of furniture besides my black trunk. I’d brought from home a small tocadiscos phonograph and a couple albums to play,  living in the hospital meant I had electricity during the day with their generator, while the rest of the town only had it from 6pm until midnight. Between the Doctors quarters and my quarters and the hospital ward there was a small screened visiting room where I spent time with my  English speaking friend who helped me adjust to my new circumstances. The Doctors wife wasn’t able to be in the sun and spent her days with her son in their room, she didn’t speak English and you know my Spanish was non-existent at that time so we didn’t spend time together. I had a perico (small green bird) that stayed on my shoulder (clipped wings) as I walked around town until I sat on it.   He (?) was sitting on my cot, I didn’t see him. So Sad.

Somehow my grandmother was able to send me two huge dark fruitcakes for several years and it was a royal treat to share with friends. They were sent to the Panama City address and then sent on to El Real via the daily flights from Panama City to El Real. We were so happy to have and share them. ( I was even moved to bake fruitcake heavy on the rum myself for a few years.)

It’s funny that while I  look back on a memory, other related memories crowd in and  I have to make room for it. It’s the details that make a story spark,  I’m trying for the spark!

I admit to being guilty of not fulfilling my two-year obligation to the Peace Corps.  I mentioned this in an earlier post but as I said, I stayed in my ‘town’ for 6 years, leaving when my daughter was ready to start school.  She was thrilled to start school as a listener in her uniform with her two friends in El Real but it was time for us to go live in the big city. Love that photo!

oh yeah,

I married the English speaking friend.

 

Baby Diapers & My Minnesota Parents in El Real

What can you write about babies diapers?  Plenty if you live in Panama, either in the city or in the jungle.  There was a particular way I was told to wash diapers

• rinse them out with soapy water
• lay them in the sun
• wash them again
• rinse them again
• any spotted diapers go back in the sun
• rinse again
• hang to dry

repeat every day. Or give them to be washed in the river by AnaJulia?

 No

I washed my babies diapers always, though I did have to take them on horseback to wash them in a clean river when the aqueduct was broken so no good water in the pipes that day.

When my parents were visiting the aqueduct again was broken, my Mom and I took them to the river on foot this time.  Not sure what my Mom thought of all this, but she was a good sport and had a story to tell back home.

I believe those are my husband’s clothes there. ***

When my parents came to visit the first time, they came to El Real on the tiny airplanes and were really good sports about everything because as luck would have it nothing worked while they were there.  The aqueduct was broken so the water in the shower and bathrooms didn’t work and we had to bring up water to the 2nd floor for showers in tubs with totumas (gourds) to splash over ourselves to bathe.  I always bathed in the afternoon when the water was warm. My father-in-law was in residence and he had men bring water up into another tank so it would flow from the shower head for them.  We had a rodeo of sorts where my Dad helped emasculate cows and inject medicine into them while we watched sipping fresh coconut milk from a palm climbed by kids and opened by machete, everyone carries one no? Dad loved it    

We made tamales while my parents were there and my mother-in-law directed the activity.  It meant we needed chickens and pork cooked, corn ground and cooked for the masa,   2 types of leaves for them to be wrapped in, inner and outer layers, no corn husks here, .pickles, onions,  and   tamales were  made with each  person’s favorite bit of meat or part of chicken, and marked  with a string or colored bit of cloth to tell whose is whose.  They are the best tamales I’ve ever tasted, have not tasted one better, but this production is not for the weak of heart, it takes all day to make and you need a team!   It was a New Years event much anticipated by those lucky enough to get one.

 

*****Many of my Darien photos are here though the generosity of my friend Janet Fish.

SALUDOS DE PANAMÁ

LA POLLERA DE PANAMÁ. Isabel Corson

LA POLLERAS DE PANAMÁ ISABEL CORSON, MY NIECE

A beautiful costume worn on many Panamanian holidays and fiestas…and that’s my daughter in the wedding pollera

POLLERA DE BODAS

Looking back……2017

I’ve had some changes in the past year that I think has been pretty good for me.  A year older for sure, I wish I had not waited so long to make changes. Feelings of restlessness, of being pretty sure that I was not finished learning new things, about myself and about the world I’d created around me

.  (my painting)

I had been living in Austin while studinging Chinese Medicinefinishing up credits to take my RN boards, passing both and working in a Doctors office doing triage and some acupuncture.  It was a busy time that I should have been just studying not working because the concepts of Chinese medicine are quite different from western medicine and not easy for a person versed in our style of medicine to grasp. So I  benefited during those 3 years of study, enjoyed my Professor Bindi Zhu and was successful treating patients but never completely used my new skills.  I went back to nursing doing home care and finally began the highlight of my nursing experience in Hospice Care.

When my daughter had her first child I quit my job and sold my home and went to Florida to help,  I continued to do so until last year. I lived close by in a condo while in Florida and in their basements in Virgina  About 12 years in all.  And it was fine, wonderful in fact, but then the boys grew up, didn’t need so much hands-on attention, were involved in sports and middle school I became a chauffeur.

It was time for me to move on, at least for awhile, while I still can. I’m already 75!

My lovely sister said to come back to Texas and I did.  Some tears shed on both sides of the windshield both my daughter’s tears and mine.

I moved into a one bedroom apartment in Plano TX  for a year and found that my income would soon not be enough when the rent went up as it always does each year. My sister saved me again with an offer to live with them for a while, saving money for my next move.

I was painting and selling my work at craft fairs, even bought a tent and tables all the stuff needed to attend Saturday farmers markets but this is physically challenging for me plus  I’m not very good at selling and managing the business.  My sister is stronger (and 6 years younger) but she became less enthusiastic quickly. I understand and so I bought a printer that I can make prints of my paintings and sell online someday, maybe.

Sold the printer as I would not be able to take it in my RV, too heavy  too big so that info has been deleted here

Living with my sister and husband for the past 4 months have been a perfect interlude but I can’t stay here forever so I am making new plans.

   I’ll share the thought process here,

 

 

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The Town of El Real de la Santa Maria, Darién Panamá 1965

Hello!   I invite friends and family to add your memories of El Real here on the contacts form at the end of this post.  I’m sure they will be of interest to many readers.  Thanks

When I lived in El Real the town had two communities on either side of the town, Pueblo Nuevo and the school on one side and the town proper with the three streets on the other side.  The Guardia had their office and jail on this side. There were 3 stores owned by Chinese residents, a church, and a library. And three cantinas.

No paved roads, there was nowhere to go anyway. During the dry season, a truck could get to the farm.  During the wet season, even the horses had a difficult time getting through the mud.me on a horse and a cowboy.

The Library only had political books, no light reading! I regret not having used some influence in getting books for the library, it would have been a good PCV project or even as a resident a project I could have gotten started.  But I was young and a little overwhelmed and intimidated.

The hospital had an operating room for when the MD was there, a postpartum room but most women gave birth at home.  There was a larger sala for patients but if someone was really ill or injured they were flown to Panama City for care. Employees at the hospital lived in the hospital as I did.

Here are ladies hanging out on the steps of the hospital

I remember an incident, while The doctor and the nurses were busy with a difficult delivery and I was hanging around the sala when a man yelled and started blowing into the ear of a woman in bed, to do CPR I guessed, I took over and so I am the godmother of a child as a result.  I’m not sure what was going on there but they seemed to think I had saved her life and so as godmother to her child, I was expected to gift the child with earrings, so I did..

The residents of El Real were a mix of transient Colombian, Chinese, Panamanian and a few from the interior areas north of Panama City, commonly called ‘the interior’.  Those from ‘the interior were more likely to work in agriculture and have small farms. I definitely stood out in a crowd.  My husband had family in El Real that I sometimes visited with but my Spanish was truly terrible limiting our conversations and the support I could have gotten from them.

I’m not one to judge anyone’s morality but life was hard for many and one did what one did to survive if not thrive. There were few jobs for the residents and many government jobs were filled with people from outside the community. I didn’t get a sense of community in El Real but that may be just who I was in those circumstances.  I’ve seen photos of the current El Real and many changes have been made and I think I would feel welcome now, but of course, I am not the same person now….and now my Spanish is better!

I did form some lasting relationships especially with the mother of my daughter’s friends, a  popular school teacher, and respected leader of the community. New PCV’s sent to this area were not sent there alone anymore, just couples  The most successful couple, the Fish’s were the most active PCV’s, he was a biologist and was in jungle heaven, their projects involved the Choco Indians and they spent less time in town more time up the river.  I know that Janet still communicates with friends she made there and I am blessed to be a good friend of hers today. Thanks to Janet for this and other photos.