Let me set the stage for you.
It's afternoon, around 3:30 pm. It's hot. We're in the Caribbean. We're sitting on the new deck where we can see palm trees and hear the waves hitting the shore. We're enjoying a cold beer with our friend Lauren, who is very much Haitian, albeit white Haitian, to celebrate moving into the new place. Lauren is blond, wearing bermuda shorts, a button up top and aviator style sunglasses. Chris and I are just our sweaty selves. We're casually chatting about some stuff Lauren was going to look into for us when she says, with the same casualness that she would have had if she was talking about buying a box of cereal, "Now, about the guns..."
That's when I burst into laughter.
The whole thing struck me as really, really funny. See, in Haiti it's so much about who you know and asking those that you know for help with particular situations. A week or so ago Chris had been talking to Lauren about trying to find a couple of 12 gauge shotguns with papers for the mission for future security use. As in, guns for guards for down the road so we have the option of hiring private guards again instead of the security company. These things are available, but can be hard to find so you put feelers out and you end up having conversations that involved the words, "I know a guy." Yesterday Lauren was about to tell us that she had mentioned our need to her dad, but needed to talk to him more about it.
As Canadians the whole idea of owning a gun of any kind has been an evolving process for Chris and I. I mean, normally the words Canadian and gun don't go in the same sentence. That's just the way it is. Moving here and having to deal with all that has led to many, many conversations and learning to accept that we definitely aren't in Kansas anymore. So, pair that with the casualness of yesterdays conversation and I had one of those moments where my two worlds didn't just collide, they pretty much ran into each other like fast moving freight trains.
And right now it's 1:30 am and it still makes me laugh. I just wish I could have captured the moment in a picture.
2 comments:
To be fair, there are *lots* of guns in Kansas.
hee hee heee. hee. yes, it's important to be fair. very fair. ;)
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