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- Mar 5, 1999
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There are things I'd rather not remember and this is one of them but the picture Pala sent of that poor orphan eating a meal off a plastic sack and the homeless fellow with no shoes eating that big plate of dhal bhat tarkari jogged it back -- and it's one of those experiences that is burned into your memory deeply and forever -- a scar that will never go away and the only way to keep your sanity is to vomit it up once in awhile so here it is like it or not.
Yangdu, her sis Sanu & husband Nabin, little sis Chokpa had taken the day off and had driven over to Dhalal Ghat for a day of swimming in the Bhairab Bisi River. Outside the Kathmandu Valley and up the into the foothills of the Himalayas there is no pollution and the river runs clean and clear fed by the snows of the Himalayas.
We did our swimming and I drank some beer. Then we went into town to get some fried fish fresh out of the river -- and me, of course, a few more liters of Iceberg beer. We stopped at a little open air cafe and the feast began. At that time not many queeries frequented Dhalal Ghat so soon a group of locals had gathered to observe the "white monkey" eat fish and drink beer.
Among the group was a 10 or 12 year old Tamang boy. He was dressed in rags, barefoot and was dirty. Big, sad eyes, that watched every bite I took.
There are things I can handle in life and some that I can't. Gorging myself in front of a starving kid is one of the things I can't. I told sauji to fix a plate for the kid. He did, I called the kid over, had him sit down next to me and I stuck the plate in front of him and told him to eat. He was ravished and polished off the plate quicker than I could. He got another and another until he couldn't eat more. He looked at me when he was done and there were tears in his eyes.
A little kindness goes a long way and I'm betting he never forgot that white monkey who offered a little kindness and I have never forgotten a hungry little Tamang boy who gave me the opportunity to be a little better human being.
Blessings to you Tamang Man who was once that boy wherever you may be and I pray to God that you are hungry no longer.
Yangdu, her sis Sanu & husband Nabin, little sis Chokpa had taken the day off and had driven over to Dhalal Ghat for a day of swimming in the Bhairab Bisi River. Outside the Kathmandu Valley and up the into the foothills of the Himalayas there is no pollution and the river runs clean and clear fed by the snows of the Himalayas.
We did our swimming and I drank some beer. Then we went into town to get some fried fish fresh out of the river -- and me, of course, a few more liters of Iceberg beer. We stopped at a little open air cafe and the feast began. At that time not many queeries frequented Dhalal Ghat so soon a group of locals had gathered to observe the "white monkey" eat fish and drink beer.
Among the group was a 10 or 12 year old Tamang boy. He was dressed in rags, barefoot and was dirty. Big, sad eyes, that watched every bite I took.
There are things I can handle in life and some that I can't. Gorging myself in front of a starving kid is one of the things I can't. I told sauji to fix a plate for the kid. He did, I called the kid over, had him sit down next to me and I stuck the plate in front of him and told him to eat. He was ravished and polished off the plate quicker than I could. He got another and another until he couldn't eat more. He looked at me when he was done and there were tears in his eyes.
A little kindness goes a long way and I'm betting he never forgot that white monkey who offered a little kindness and I have never forgotten a hungry little Tamang boy who gave me the opportunity to be a little better human being.
Blessings to you Tamang Man who was once that boy wherever you may be and I pray to God that you are hungry no longer.
Well, he's turned out to be a lot tougher than we imagined then. The kid is built like a solid brick wall. He giggles when his older brother (2 yrs. old) jumps on him. If I hold him on my lap facing away from me, he start to head-butt me.