The Government Officials

There is no road between Deqin and Yubeng Village and the Yubeng Villagers want it to stay that way. Their home is the last stop on the way to the Mystic Waterfall, a trek made by tens of thousands a year. If a road is established to their town then people could simply day hike to the Waterfall and drive back to Deqin at night and the hospitality business, from hostels to guides to horse rentals, in Yubeng Village would be in serious jeopardy.

On our last day in Yubeng Village our hosts were very busy preparing a large feast. They appologized for our simple breakfast but said they had to save most of their good food for the Government Officials who were due to arrive that night. They were being sent to survey the area and make a determination about the feasibility of building a road. Though the Villagers were obviously not in support, they were expected to entertain the Officials in grand style.

As the rain poured down all day for the first time in a week the Villagers winked at each other knowing that the Government Officials were riding unprotected on horseback through the storm. Kawa Karpo was clearly expressing his displeasure.

As evening drew near, the Villagers dressed in their traditional clothing and waited at the entrance of the hostel with warm shaojiu. We were watching the pageant from the nearby shelter of our awning. When it became apparent that the Government Officals were running late, the Villagers all ran over to stay dry under the eaves with us. At some point, one of them had the crazy idea to share their shaojiu with us! They tried to give a bit to Gail who took a small sip, made a face, and then backed away. Mike had about the same response. As an alumnus of one of Playboy Magazine's top party schools, I am proud to say I shot my shaojiu like a pro. Go Vandals!

Blog Interrupted.....

This is a true story.... On Friday April 13th I turned 30. Now, I'm not generally a superstitious person, but the year I turned 13 (also on Friday the 13th) 13 people people I knew died. Dana, upon hearing this, decided that climbing with me this year would be precarious. Then she started to litter me with four leaf clovers (she has a knack for finding them). Unfortunately, the four leaf clovers have not been charm enough to ward off foul omens and on June 4th I broke a mirror, a doubly inauspicious event because not only did it foretell seven years of bad luck, but in China, the number 4 is terribly unlucky. I mention this in advance of telling you about the events that have transpired in the month since June 4th and which subsequently made blogging impossible.

1. My Dad was diagnosed with cancer, had surgery within a week, and will be starting chemo very soon. (On the positive side, he looks amazing, has an incredible spirit, and I am in total awe of his shear force of will);

2. I was left completely alone in the office to manage 5000 criminal defendants. (In the past three years my little unit has been responsible for recovering over $178,000,000.00 for victims of crime, a success which directly contributed to Congress fully funding our office this year and yet "there isn't enough money in the budget to replace" two of my agents who retired in December. Then, this June, my one remaining agent ended up in the hospital for a month and my boss left for Greece);

3. Our car broke down;

4. Our plumbing crapped out twice (literally); and

5. I had a surprise meeting with the AG.

On the positive side, our garden is exploding raspberries (I have made 14 pints of jam so far, have three gallons of berries in our freezer, and I have been picking about a gallon a night!). Maybe the four leaf clovers are allowing me to channel my Grandfather's green thumb. Our corn is already three feet tall, the beans are ready to pull, the zucchini is blooming, the radishes are going to seed, the apples are ripening, the gooseberries are plump, and everything else (except the peppers) are thriving (Grandpa was never a fan of peppers).