Wednesday, October 28

T No excuse too small for a parade My house seems to be paramount on the parade route so I can just step out my front door and watch the poor students sweating their way through their routines. And the drummers are shlepping all this equipment. They made me my very own wastebasket in the office.And a sign for my desk, warning others to steer clear They take care of me. This is the best….in lesson we were talking about new verbs, like “to text.” My kids use a verb, “Facebookiar.” !!!!!!! I’m trying to be more social so I RSVP’d for an ex-pat dinner/movie on Saturday night. I’m supposed to bring a Halloween-themed food. Too much pressure. Now I have to scour the Internet. Problem is I don’t know which ingredients the market is likely to have. I found a corn dish using a cornbread mix but who knows if La Colonia will have anything like this. I can only get to the market late today or Satuday morning and Saturday may be too late. I’m going back on the Intenet. I cn’t use cute little chocolate noses and eyes. They’ll just melt. I want my LA kitchen!

Monday, October 26

This is an ad a young lady placed in the local bulletin put out weekly by an ex-pat. Notice her educational background and notice her salary requirements. Qualified Person Looking Work in Dental/Medical Field Currently I am working in a customer service company but would like to work in the dental/medical field. I could be a great value to an NGO needing my services or a regular medical practice. Thank you for considering me. Regards Dr. Alcira Castrillo DDS Resume follows: Alcira Esmeralda Castrillo Hernández Personal Summary A confident communicator who can relate well with dental and medical patients. Capable to work as part of a medical and dental team, and has a flexible approach to work. I have extensive knowledge of dental procedure, hygiene product, devices and solutions. Extensive knowledge of clinical procedures and medical and dental terminology. Endodontic, Cosmetic Dentistry and Prosthodontics are my high field of performance. Personal information House address Km 17 Carretera a Masaya Contact Number (505) 86190460 (Claro) Identification Number 888-230391-0001U E-mail. alci_cah@hotmail.com Work Experience Sitel Nicaragua S.A March 2015 - Present • Customer Service Representative   Skills • Bilingual English and Spanish • Can work under pressure • Well organized • Easy learner • Can work in groups • Great listener • Well-presented and articulate • Skilled in root canal • Soft tissue management • Hygienic expertise • Able to write prescriptions for antibiotics and other dental medication. Technical Packages • Windows XP, Vista, Seven, Windows 8 • Microsoft Office 2010-2013 Education Elementary Skyway Elementary School (Miami, fl, USA) 1996-01 Middle School Lakes Stevens Middle School (Miami, fl, USA) 2001-02 High School Colegio Cristo Rey (Santo Tomas, Chontales, Nic) 2003-08 College Universidad Católica Redemptoris Mater (Managua, Nic) Facultad de Odontología 2009-2014 Personal Reference Dr. Arlettys Vega Cabrera 8146-7643 Semiology Dr. Carlos Ayerdis Zamora 8855-3840 Cruz Azul Managua Urologist Dr. Ofelia Cabrera Astacio 8883-7706 Cruz Azul Managua 8883-7706 Msc. Pdh. Pediatric Dentistry Salary Requirements My current salary is $600 monthly so something around that amount would be satisfactory. $600 month!!!! And she’s bi-lingual. Wages here are ridiculous. And people can’t even get jobs to earn the ridiculous wages. Daniel and I had a tiff because he’s been working for the circus without payment. They were supposed to do a benefit for the poorest barrios and the city was supposed to give them some recompense. They did the benefit and the city didn’t come through. Now they can’t pay their payroll. I told Daniel to quit last week if he didn’t receive his salary but he’s been sucked in, and thinks if he continues to work, they’ll come through. What’s going to happen is that they’re going to pull up stakes in the night and leave, owing him a couple of weeks’ payment. He’s so happy to have a job, it doesn’t occur to him that if he’ll work for free, there are any number of jobs available. Meanwhile, none of this is putting food on the table for his children. The sun comes up every day at 5:30 a.m. The sun goes down every day at 5:30 p.m. Doesn’t matter what season. Every day. Sundown at 5:30 is depressing. I miss the long Los Angeles summer days. I had two totally indolent days. No Spanish lesson because my teacher’s mom died a few days ago. No English lesson because Daniel’s nephew had to work. Only my bi-weekly 2-hour manicure and pedicure which taxes my Spanish to the limit, making small talk with Luz Marie while she scrapes away the Granada dirt from my paws. Otherwise, I tried to listen to a 2-hour tutorial on Book Publishing by the most boring man. I fell asleep in the chair, I fell asleep in the hammock, I fell asleep on the couch. finally I gave up and took my weekend nap on the bed. I never ever ever nap in Los Angeles because there’s always an errand to be done or a closet to be cleaned. Here, there’s nothing at all to do except study more Spanish, and there’s just so much I can try to stuff into my poor memory on a daily basis. So I read and swim and sleep and cook.

Saturday, October 24

I had such a good teaching week. The only one who cancelled because of a cold was Cony and she’s my least favorite student. She kind of blows it off even though she’s a decent learner. The others were all excited for class, full of questions, needing homework help. I love it when they come to me for translations of phrases they hear in the street. But then I have to come up with explanations for sayings like “Keep it under your hat.” The first two classes of the day are pure delight. I go to lunch at the Garden Cafe super-jazzed. By the second class in the afternoon, I succumb to the heat, but then I have that third sweaty afternoon class. I give up any semblance of hairstyle and blast three fans in my face, to the amusement of my kids. Last night I attended the XXI Festival Internacional de Danza Contemporanea at Casa de Tres Mundos. A modern dance group making the rounds of Spain, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I go by myself. Daniel would have more interest in a bug toss. There were two La Esperanza Granada volunteers sitting behind me, so we made small talk until the performance began. Performances are always very late. This is Nicaragua. One of the volunteers wants to make Nicaragua her retirement home but she can’t take Granada’s heat, so she’s going to look for volunteer opportunities up north in the mountains where it’s cooler. The concert was good but the dancers spent a lot of time rolling around the floor and I kept wishing them hot showers after the performance. This is the dirtiest country. I hate discordant modern dance music; a lot of cellos. Casa de Tres Mundos has better fans than in the past so I wasn’t really hot but I felt so sorry for the dancers. Perspiration poured through their clothes. Their jean’d legs were sopping. I’ve seen more modern dance in Nicaragua than I have in my entire life. Tap dancing seems not to be a national interest.

Wednesday, October 21

Daniel went to his police appointment regarding the accident with the motorcyclist and they slapped him in jail. His contrite face didn’t work; they wanted $. Daniel owes $400 to the injured party. The circus agreed to pay the rest. I coughed up Daniel’s portion to spring him. The only alternative is for Daniel to continue to drive for the circus to earn the $, but they’re moving on to Leon which is too far for him to commute. I didn’t come all this way for him to follow Clarabell through Latin America. In this country, money makes everything go away. We think we have corruption problems! I’ve been having trouble sleeping so I took a sleeping pill and went to bed. I’ve been sleeping for two days. I slept through all my classes yesterday and slept through one today. Which is difficult when you’re teaching one to one. It’s not like they don’t notice when I nod off. All I want to do is sleep. Except between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Yessi, my student who attends university on the weekend, is taking an English Lit course for which she has to deliver a speech. Containing the words Renaissance and Neoclassicism. Those words are difficult for ME. And , unless she wrote it down wrong, her professor gave the class an incorrect pronunciation for Renaissance. I want to revamp their entire English program. The turtle was swimming alongside me this morning. I slid the boogie board under it and dry-docked it. Its breaststroke was faster than mine.

Circus folk dunking in my pool. Renato is the head clown. Which is a step up from class clown. His wife is a contortionist. The oldest kid is theirs. The others are assorted cousins. Interesting to know that in Latin America, they register at whatever local school is handy. I can’t imagine American schools allowing that. So the kids get some sort of half-assed education. The circus has been stalling on Daniel’s salary because the audiences aren’t showing up and they’re in the hole. It rains every day and people don’t particularly want to stand in line in the torrents. Daniel has the inside word that, when the circus continues on to the next city, one of the guys in the motorcycle act is going to split. His daughter is a contortionist and his wife is an aerialist, so the circus will be losing 3 performers due to non-payment of wages. There are ants in my vitamins! Part of their quest, I suppose, to become super bugs. The handyman sprayed all the cupboards today and the clothesline. I’ve been wearing the clothesline ants and they don’t even match my T-shirts. Daniel had an appt.this morning w/ the police in Managua regarding the motorcycle accident. He was very nervous because he was showing up, as he said, “sin dinero, solo mi cara.” Without money, just with his face. I haven’t heard from him all day and his voice mail says the phone is “fuera de servicio.” Out of service. We’re supposed to go to the market this evening at long last. I’ve eaten all the crumbs of the crumbs of the crumbs. My cupboard is bare, except for ants and, although, I’m sure I’ve eaten many of them, they look less than appetizing. Last night we ordered pizza and I devoured the leftover for lunch. I think there’s a save-me packet of popcorn.

Sunday October 18

The head payaso (clown) of the circus, his wife, and three children are in my pool, along w/ Daniel and his son Enrique. I’m the YMCA of the parade route. I’m embarrassed that I can’t offer them anything, other than a sparkling pool, because I pretty much decimated the kitchen of food before I left for LA. And what I didn’t eat, the ants got. This morning there were ants in my vitamins! I just sent a fumigation plea to the rental agency. It’s strange to be back in Granada after my brief Los Angeles trip. Culture shock on both ends. The flight from LA to Houston was on a new United plane. So clean and fresh and new and big. With free seat back entertainment of about 50 feature films and much more TV. Free! No DirecTv gouging. And pillows and blankets. And nice seats that seemed comfortable. The flight’s only 3 hours but I didn’t even bother reclining the seat. I returned to Daniel and the driver waiting for me in a huge welcome home rainstorm. We’ll go to the market later today. I’ve been making meals of crumbs since my return. Daniel worked in Managua last night so I had cheese and crackers while lamenting USC’s loss to Notre Dame. Last week during the heat wave my Los Angeles renter emailed me, “We’re having trouble turning on the air condition. It’s so hot in the house.” I replied, “It’s no surprise that you’re having difficulty, because I don’t have air conditioning. You’re turning on the heat.” I hope Fall has fallen, and the heat waves were only a summer thing. Going to juggle up some conversation with the circus folk.

Attending the lovely memorial for Enid did nothing to convince me that she’s not here. Listening to all the heartfelt tributes to her only made me want to pick up the phone and get her take on the day. She would have loved to have been there. I think she was. On my way back to Nicaragua. IMG_6054.jpegIMG_6056 (1).jpeg

Monday, October 12

Luz Marina, my manicurist, came to the house yesterday. Her manicure/pedicure takes TWO hours which makes me insane, but she’s so sweet and has invited me to her home and I guess it beats going to a salon. We chatter for the whole time in my limited Spanish, which I guess is more stressful for me than I thought because at one point, while my hands were immersed in soapy water, she grabbed a napkin from the napkin holder, and mopped the sweat from my face and my chest. After the manicure, I met my ex-roommate Hanne at her home before going for a drink w/ her and her 8-month baby. I didn’t want to drip all over the baby so I couldn’t pick him up. And the first thing her husband Rodrigo asked me was if I wanted water. I obviously looked like I was losing buckets. So embarrassing. Hanne speaks German to the baby and Rodrigo speaks Spanish to him. The baby’s starting to garble speak and they don’t know in which language is the garble. I bought circus tickets for my housekeeper and her family yesterday but Daniel has enough circus during the day and didn’t want to go. He said they’re not doing well because their prices are too high. It poured rain during the early performance and there were only about 30 people in the audience. The cheapest seats are C$100 which is about $4 American. For a Nica family, that’s really expensive because, for example, sometimes Daniel only earns C$100/day. A circus is a luxury. Dolores told me her family really enjoyed it. I’m so lucky to live in this wonderful house. I could never afford this in LA. Except for the terrible lighting in the kitchen at night, it’s like being at a beautiful resort. The homes of the natives are like trains, a front door and then room after room behind one another. No windows at all. Many of the houses don’t even have fans. That’s why so many Nicas drag their rocking chairs outside to gossip. My first volunteer house here, La Casita, had similar construction. I had a ceiling fan and floor fan going constantly. And there is more interaction w/ the animal kingdom than I like. I thought it was a bat on the bedroom ceiling but Daniel said it was a creature similar to a mariposa (butterfly). But, for me, it was ugly brown and about the size of 6 mariposas. It was there all morning and then a tiny lizard sidled up to it, and the creature split. You rock, lizard! I found a perfect twig in the pool. I put it on the pavement for the nest-building bird. Sure enough, the bird beaked it and added it to its home up in the tree. I feel like 10% of that treehouse is mine. Daniel’s asking his boss if he can use the circus car to take me to the airport at 5 tomorrow morning. No clowns. I have a 5-1/2 hour layover in Houston! But the only other option was a connection of an 1 hour and 18 minutes and, having to go through Customs there, I was too afraid of missing my next flight. I don’t have any more United Club passes so I’ll just have to amuse myself sans comfort. I’ll be in LA for Wednesday and Thursday, and then on my way back here on Friday.

Friday, October 9

I’m still waiting for details so I haven’t booked a flight yet. I don’t want to bother the family more than I have to so I’ll just continue to wait. I went back to the shoe repair guy and told him I thought I owed him more money because he was probably right about which flip flop flopped. He was tongue-tied. I’m trying to give gringos a good reputation. Although both Daniel and his baby mama Heysell told me the dentist (whom I had liked and respected as a professional women) was charging more because she knew a Nica wasn’t footing the bill. They said everyone sticks it to the foreigners because they think we can just suck it up. Which is why I just let Heysell go to the dental appt. w/ Michell without me. Let the Nica negotiate with the other Nica. I told her my largesse ends in December. Heysell pointed out that the dentist wants to file Michell’s front teeth so they’ll be even, as well as another cosmetic procedure which will cost an add’l $70. I nodded yes and then realized her teeth are straight now; how perfect do they need to be? She’s never going to be Giselle. Let her have uneven front teeth and I can keep my seventy bucks. Heysell does a lot of hand wringing. Then she called at 10:30 p.m. to ask Daniel to take her to the hospital because she was having heart palpitations. Last week she also called him to take her the hospital because she was short of breath. The woman can’t get out of her own way. There was a large turtle by the pool this morning. I wonder why we’re not afraid of turtles. They’re pretty ugly if you don’t know they’re harmless. And slow. My new student Javiera is a little chub with a very pretty face and the hairiest arms I’ve ever seen on a girl. During our classes all I think about are dipilitories. She’s a beginner and it’s fun to teach at a different level and watch her progress. She’s so proud of herself when she catches on. My favorite thing is making my students laugh. YOU try being funny in Spanish. People ask me how I like retirement. I don’t feel retired. Mondays and Wednesdays I have comparatively short days, but at the end of the other three, you could wring me out. The owner of the hostel next door to my house laughs when I literally drag myself up the stairway after the walk home. Today I bought a tortilla filled w/ cheese freshly made on a street corner grill to enjoy while walking. One of the perks of being in Nicaragua. It cost less than a nickel. That fucker is still winning Jeopardy. There must be SOMEbody who can knock his self-satisfied ass off.

October 8 thursday

I just removed Enid’s name from the email list. That hurts. People should still be able to get their email when they’re gone. I still have my mother’s rolodex card on the off-chance that someday, with increased technology, I may be able to call her. Before I left the States, I gave Jack’s caregivers a birthday card to send for Enid’s birthday in December. I’m not sure yet when the funeral is so I don’t know when I’ll travel. I went on the Internet to check flight times. There’s no direct flight during the week. Most of the schedules say, “Short connection” which scares me when I have to go through customs or there can be delays. My choices are a one hour layover in Houston or a four hour layover in Houston. I’m afraid to try connections outside of the US. Too many opportunities to get stuck in Panama for 24 hours, as once happened. Daniel’s baby mama Heysell came to the house FOUR times yesterday. Michell’s appt w/ the orthodontist was at 3 p.m. First Heysell came at 8:30 a.m. to remind me about the appt. Daniel told me NOT to go to the appt. to speak to the dentist because both Heysell and Michell are jealous and it could be uncomfortable. The only thing that’s uncomfortable about my relationship with Heysell is that she’s a jabberwocky. She talks a mile a minute and doesn’t shut up. I’ve never seen anyone talk so much. I’ve told her multiple times that I can’t understand her. She seems to be happy with the talking and not mind the not understanding. The second she comes in the door, I start trying to edge her out of it. I told her I had to go to the bank to get the $. So she returned at 2:45 p.m. for the cash. Then she came back w/ Michell after the dental checkup to let me know the dentist was trying to cheat us. Luckily, I had a receipt for one of my payments the dentist had neglected to enter. She took the receipt in question back to the dentist’s office as proof of payment, and then came back here AGAIN to return my receipts. In my usual Type A filing, I had everything in order. She kept spreading my receipts all over the table, folding them up, crumpling them. She made me insane. Poor Michell was just hanging back, trying not to pay attention to her nutso mother. I don’t like trashing people but last night I finally HAD to ask Daniel, “Was she like this when you two were together?” He thought that was hilarious, because the answer is yes. The hotel manager in charge of the construction of the condo units next door contacted me yet again to ask me to counter on a price to buy my house. He said if they’re going to demolish my house and incorporate a park in their design, they have to do it in the next 3 weeks. I said, “I’m in Nicaragua for the next 2-1/2 months. How am I going to sell my house?” Finding a place to live in Los Angeles is not first on my list of priorities at the moment. I’m sure when I have those condo people gazing in my kitchen window as I eat my granola, I’ll wish I’d gotten out. I HATE the current asshole winner on Jeopardy. It’s my one daily television pleasure because ABC is the only American channel here in Nicaragua. I watch the show every evening. But now I watch only to cheer on anyone who can beat him. Where is Ken Jennings when I need him? I’m so proud of myself when my mind fetches a word from the dark recesses and I can use it in conversation. I was trying to explain the difference between a bulletin board and a whiteboard to a student, and I came up with “tachuela” which is thumbtack. Who knew that would come in handy? On Tuesday 6 long long long classes. By the 5th, I moved my student to the ayudantes table to be closer to the door and gulp some air and light. But I didn’t have any fans and, after an hour of mopping my drip-face, I returned to my own table and my two fans. Screw the air and light. I’ll take phony fan air.

October 7 Enid

My beloved friend Enid died yesterday.  I can’t get my head around it and I can’t grieve because I don’t believe it’s true.  She was the one person in the world to whom I could tell anything and everything.  She had leukemia and then she had lymphoma and then she got a blood clot in her leg after the first chemo session.  She had surgery and then never came back to being Enid.  Her kidneys shut down.  Her daughter Ari whom she adored was with her at the time. God’s little joke that she had the double mastectomy to prevent BREAST cancer! I’m coming back to the States for the funeral.  I’m not sure when because apparently cremation arrangements take a while so the funeral won’t be until next week. It’s not possible I can’t call Enid and tell her outrageous things.  The world is a sadder place. 

October 5 - Enid

It’s hard for me to think about anything but Enid.  She’s been in the hospital for the past 6 weeks.  This is her THIRD cancer battle and she had a preventative double mastectomy on top of that a year or so ago, because she carried the gene!  She had leukemia twice and now this is some form of aggressive lymphoma.  This week she had to have surgery on a leg blood clot and now she’s got problems with her kidney.  No one should have to go through this once, much less 3 times.  She’s one of the strongest people I know but there’s a limit.  Think positive thoughts. And I received an email from one of my friends at Curves.  Judy, the owner, who must still be in her 30s and obviously in great physical condition, was found early morning unconscious behind her desk.  Someone saw her parking her car in the garage but then when that person knocked on the locked door a few minutes later, there was no answer.  Police and paramedics were called and Judy’s in the hospital. A possible stroke?  Everything else for me is trivial.  I just got an email from the rental agency, advising me that the owner of Casa Pilar has changed her plans and isn’t coming to Granada for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I was starting to look at rentals because there were 9 nights I would’ve had to get out.  Every time I looked at my packed-to-the-gills refrigerator and toiletries in the bathroom, I imagined re-packing everything and then unpacking when the owner left again.  I’m so relieved that I can relax. The last 2 times I was here I got a Brazilian blowout before I left LA, against the wishes of my hair stylist.  She claims it’s bad for your hair.  I don’t have enough left to attest to that.  So I skipped the blowout this time.  At my new office table, I’ve got fans pointed at me from both sides.  It’s like sitting in a wind tunnel.  As long as it’s not blowing in my mouth, I can’t worry about my hair. Daniel worked the entire weekend and I didn’t see him until briefly this morning when he and his “announcer” car arrived in Granada to start the local publicity.  My local manicurist, Luz Marie, and her husband visited me last night.  She had picked a flat iron from of the Amazon site; I ordered it and brought it to her as well as a couple of bottles of Biotin.  I had one suitcase for me and one full of stuff for other people. This is the last circus performance in Managua tonight and then tomorrow they move to Granada.  I hope they’ll be here for a while.  They don’t seem to tell Daniel much.  They haven’t even been paying him extra for his night work, and he doesn’t want to rock the job boat by asking for it. He hasn’t arrived at the house early enough to make his fabled rice so I tried couscous to go with the barbecued beef (made by Melissa, my food girl).  Daniel acted as if I had cooked the yellow ants and piled them on his plate.  He thinks my food is totally strange.  He won’t try mushrooms or olives.  He picked the cheese out of the salad.  He pushes the onions to the side of the plate.  All the man wants is rice and beans.  I HATE beans.  Compatibility?  Not so much.  

Saturday, October 3

Another bird, this time in my shower. I simply ceded shower power to the bird and sought another bathroom. When I returned from class, it had departed…without using my razor. I could do without this wildlife connection. I stuck my hand in my bag of cashews, only to be bitten by a band of ants. I didn’t know that kitchen ants bite. My hand hurt and itched like mad for the next two days. My housekeeper attacked the cupboards w/ Raid but I lost a lot of food to the roving buggers. Cereal, pasta, flour, nuts. I had to toss it all. Now everything just goes in the refrigerator. Safer there. This city is not without its hazards. Daniel was sweating his appt. at the police station, but his boss at the circus asked him to work so Daniel switched his police station audience to the following day. And then he went yesterday and they told him to come back on Monday because they were busy w/ a protest mob. Things are done very strangely here. Today Daniel was going to try to go to the hospital to find out about the motorcyclist’s condition. Monday is the last performance day in Managua of the circus and then it moves back to Granada on Tuesday for at least 10 days. Daniel came back to Granada w/ his boss for a meeting at the television station re advertising. The circus donates a lot of free tickets the station can use as giveaways to callers. Daniel stopped by the house w/ his boss and a couple of others. They fell in love w/ the house, and they all went swimming. Emmett Kelly and assorted clowns in my pool! In one of our lesson exercises on comparisons, I asked a student, “Who is someone more famous than you?” She answered, “Katy Perry is more famous than I.” I thought that made sense. Then I asked another student the same. She answered, “John Travolta is more famous than I.” I thought it odd that these young Nica kids should come up w/ Travolta's name instead of someone more contemporary. I speak as clearly as possible. The students write down my pronunciation phonetically so they’ll remember. But I see them writing the ending -sh on some words that I thought ended with a -t. I’m obviously not pronouncing as clearly as I think.

October 1, Thursday

One of the many watch repair guys set up all up and down the street.  To replace my battery, he removed the back of the watch and then couldn’t get it back on.  He pressed and pressed, showing me the marks embedded in his thumbs.  Finally, he gave up and used pliers, while I held my breath, worrying that he was going to smash the face.  The back is on but I’m nervous about wearing the watch. I took my broken flip flop back to the repair guy at his street stand.  He insisted I was bringing him the OTHER flip flop and not the one he repaired.  I stood my ground and he fixed it again, for free.  I got home, took a look at the bottom of the other one, and surmised he may indeed be right, so I have to seek him out and give him more $.  I should learn by now that I’m rarely right. My classes are going really well.  I would be so happy, if only I had air-conditioning.  The days of 5 classes back to back are killers, and on Tuesdays I have 6 followed by a volunteer meeting.  After almost every lesson my student tells me how much they enjoy my class.  I glow.  Well, that’s probably sweat.  I put moisturizer on my face and tried to follow it w/ powder blush.  The combination of powder, cream, and sweat made paste.   I heap praise on my students.  I want them to always feel good about themselves and their ability to learn English.  I wish someone had given me such positive feedback.  They walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment and so do I. Daniel’s circus car hit a motorcyclist in one of the many Managua round-abouts.  I’d be terrified to drive in Managua because the round-abouts are everywhere and people can enter and leave from many points.  It’s a free-for-all.  I’ve been w/ my friend Lorine when she negotiates them and I just close my eyes.  The motorcyclist went flying and apparently has a broken leg.  Even though Daniel insists it was the other guy’s fault, the driver is held liable.  They have crazy laws here.  You don’t get charged w/ many crimes if you just pay off the “victim.”  They figure it’s not going to help them much if you go to jail; they’d rather have the cash in pocket.   You can kill someone and pay your way to freedom.  The police put Daniel in jail overnight but let him out in the morning.  He had an appt. back there this morning.  I haven’t spoken to him yet to see what’s happening.  There is never a dull moment with Daniel because he has a cloud over his head.  All the money he’s earned with his circus work will go to pay the motorcyclist’s hospital bills.  Luckily, the circus car didn’t have a dent on it.