Flowings of Your Everlasting Taffyman

IN India, loving it minus the bout of travelers disease today and yesterday. Not many opportunities to post, or check e mail, but uh, shits good. I will be in scotland in a few days I think I will take a bus, like i did last time, the guy said it was the cheapest. The glasgow guy i couldnt understand who downed a liter of vodka in front of me.

Hmm From russ and emily's suggestion.

We went to a rock quarry, far from town, the great expanse of land interrupted by huge rock gaps, dynamited a way by workers who's job pai their entire family about 2$ a day. Their work: to split the rock, and break it manually with a pick axe into 1-2 inch chunks, for processing to make a dark sand, perhaps for cement, perhaps for roofing. The small village of workers, in dirty wood huts, a clearing in front, where the children had their bridge school sessions, at the hope that one day they could go to a normal school. They play and sing songs, but the people dont smile. The children wear tattered clothes, no doubt their best, with little to no undergarments in a country that frowns at such through their modesty. on a rope line, hangs drying clothes, but they arent clean, in fact they might need several more washings.
We stand around teaching songs, and taking pictures, a one day one hour 60 minute distraction in their lives of hardship. Then we compare them to the other students, as if such comparisons could be made, as if such comparisons would ever be meaningful to them.

they show us the pride, their flowers and painted stones, their deities, their temple, the place of natural worship. The distinction between the the century old temples of the city near by and these small painted rocks couldnt be more prominent.

We wait, our leaders argue over the safestway to leave, avoiding flying rock, or possibly collapse of the area all together, we ponder the green and brown ponds, while they make jokes about their mineral baths and pools. The run off of the mining process is the source of their life blood. lifewater comes with gunpowder parasites, bacteria and dirt.

A woman from a self help group asked us (in a different part or our trip) how we explain the disparity in wealth, the reason for the divide.

How do you explain the greed and selfishness of not giving away a few pennies?