I had a good walk this morning, so you will get to hear about it. We have had to use new Bagamoyo Road for the last week because old Bagamoyo Road has had a lake across it since all the rain last weekend. I wanted to walk down to the lake to take a picture. As I was at the end of our street, Jasper, about seven-year-old girl, and Jioni, about 3 year-old boy, who live across the street, came running after me. I am too lazy to walk back home with them, so the dog and us headed out. We all walk down to the new lake, and the water is about knee high, and people are wading across. It surprises me that no one has carved a path to lower water, but a big chunk of road is washed out on one side, so even if the lake dries up, I'm not sure how soon the road will be fixed so we can drive on it. There are a lot of big trucks from the sand and gravel company, that usually use the road. Maybe they can take a work crew down, and fill in the new canyon.

Anyway, then we walk by a lot of local houses (mud) down the footpath on the map, to walk back on the beach, and the kids start picking up red things off the ground and eating them. They call them "bebu" and get juice all over themselves, but seem to like them. I'll have to find out what they are. On the beach, I try to hold onto the dog, and the little kids at the same time, which was fun, with Jasper taking time out to roll in the sand now and then, and we play with a hermit crab. I pick up one nice shell, so she brings me every shell we pass after that. I'll have to take them back later. And when we get near to the house, there is a crowd gathered 'round a dead cat on the side of the road, that the kids and the dog have to check out. After Hexie stops to scratch about five more times, we get home, and I leave the dog, and take the kids back home. As soon as Jioni gets through the gate, he starts screaming about a dead cat in the road, after all the neat things we did! Oh well.

I found out that "bebu" are fruit of the cashew tree.

We saw "The Butcher's Wife" at the Marines' house last night. It wasn't what any of us expected. We all have to drag whatever we can out of our memories, to try to predict what the movies are about, and we guessed really wrong on this one. It reminds me of "Edward Scissorhands". I think you'd like it, if you haven't seen it already. Here are some pictures. They turned out pretty well. I have some more on slide film that I'll have to wait to develop, until I get home, because they can't do it here. All the baboons are there, and hopefully some good elephant pictures, and the lion pictures.

Popular games of Dar es Salaam: This is one we play at a restaurant we go to near the hospital. We usually get a pita sandwich, kind of like a gyro, and we always have to wait for the check afterwards. We sit outside on a patio, and by the time we are done, there are a large number of flies doing touchdowns on our soda glasses. So the contest is to see who can trap the most flies in the glass with your hand. Dr.G. got five or six one day, but yesterday Charlie and John were just managing one or two at a time. Then you can try to get the fly(s) stuck in the puddle of Coke in the bottom, or just shake them up, so they can't fly straight. Today is sunny, so it would be nice to do the laundry, so it could get dry, but we are out of laundry soap. Hopefully, it will be nice tomorrow so it can get done, after John gets back from the store

Your box came yesterday. Thanks a lot. But I read "Road to Gandolfo" years ago and it's not worth the postage. Anyway, I may carry the others back without reading them, but more about that below. There aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done right now, and all of it is frivolous anyway. Developed lots of film last week (besides the animals), lots of people pictures that I had to deliver copies of, and I need to go get some more film and take some more, and go get some clay sculptures, and there's a big stack of letters to answer. The hospital business is slow. No medicines, no X-rays, no ultrasounds, the surgeons have stopped doing surgery now, due to shortages, or probably aggravation. So very few patients are coming now. I can't believe all the empty beds (and floor space!)

I got a book of Swahili proverbs, and riddles, and superstitions today. They are pretty good. It helps to see the culture to figure some out though.
Meno ya mbwa haya umani.  The dog's teeth do not lock together.
Nzi kufa juu ya kindonda si haramu.
 The fly who dies on an ulcer is not unhappy.
Ulimi hauna mfupa.  The tongue has no bone.

Charlie is gone to Zambia and Jack is going to Zanzibar this weekend, so things will be quiet. I have a yen for a chocolate cake and I need to experiment a little more to figure out how to make some corn tortillas for a week or two from now. Dawn, a friend from town, wants Mexican food real bad. (She's the one that will move to Fort Worth in the fall.) Had to take time out to light a candle, as the electricity went off. I slept with a mosquito net last night, for the first time. It was an improvement over what has been going on. Since the rains started the mosquitos have been waking me up all night long, flying around my head and sneaking under the sheet. I think I woke up last night, out of habit, but definitely noticed the absence of mosquitos tormenting me. Right now, they are attacking my legs, as the fan that usually deters them went off. I may have to hang the net back up and crawl inside. Thanks again.