Myths and Legends

So we have been in Leon all week.  It is hot. I mean hot.  Highs are in the mid 90's.  While that feels pretty good this time of year, I imagine it could get pretty old after a while.  Leon is the hottest city in Nicaragua.  The old city was on a lake but had to be relocated, in the 1600's due to a pesky volcano and the indigenous people.  When they resettled it was on a small river but inland.  There is no big lake or ocean to cool it off.

 

I think the heat led the people of Leon to have quite the imagination.  So much so they created a legends and myth museum.  It was very entertaining,  Suffice it to say the Nicaraguans do not like cheating husbands or the Spanish.  Most of the myths centered around these two groups.

 

One of the most bizarre was the death wagon that would take you away if you were bad, especially if you cheated on your wife!  The origin of this myth was the Spanish would capture people in the night and take them away to be executed never to be seen again. All the people hid behind closed windows and doors.  No one ever really saw soldiers.  All the could do was hear the horses and wagon in the street.  Then Spanish soldiers morphed into this death wagon.

 

 

One the other symbols of Leon is the tall lady and the short man.  These symbols are everywhere.  The lady is very tall.  She represents the Spanish. Her head is also disproportionately small.  This signifies that the Spanish were stupid.  In addition she is a very bad dancer! If you look closely you will see a short man with a very large head.  This of course is the Nicaraguan.  They are shorter than the Spanish and the head means they are much smarter. 

 

 

 
 

Because of the high rate of illiteracy, the Nicaraguans communicate extensively with the use of murals and other symbols.  We will write about some of that later.  The Nica's are a proud people.  They love life and their country.  It has been a lot of fun to learn more about them and their culture.

What is Missing for this Picture?

Hola from Ruth - Wow!!! What a wonderful country with many opportunities and challenges. The focus of my blog is -- what is missing from this picture. That seems to be a common thing around the country -- you just have to laugh.

Photo 1 - at least this had a hay string -- this is from one of our bathrooms

 

Photo 2 - this is from our favorite place to eat in Leon. You get a meat and three sides ( cafeteria style) with a drink all for $2.00. Obviously the fan blades are not needed-- haha.

Photo 3 - this is our hotel pool/ community bathroom. I guess a faucet is not nescesarry??? Oh well -- Kirk and I are not germaphobes so that works for us. The bottle on the sink is my juice bottle not soap -- haha. At least we had a little hand sanitizer in our backpack.  Can't figure out why it posts upside down!

 

 

More to follow!!!

So What is Up with the Marbles?

Several of you have asked, what is the meaning of my blog’s name -  1248 Marbles.  So here it is.  My favorite time of the week is Saturday morning.  I always get up early and get my cup of coffee and sit on my porch which overlooks the farm.  I often watch the sun come up.  The rest of the family is asleep and it is my quiet time.   

During a particularly stressful time in my career I heard this story.  I never forgot it.  You will see that the author and I shared the same quiet time.  It really resonated with me.  Time is fleeting.  The kids are now all grown. That is time I will never get back.  Life on earth is finite.  Whether I have a long life or short life it is up to me to make the most of every moment.  This story really brought that home.

I am 51 - When I started this blog I had 1248 marbles left.  

The story that inspired my blog: 

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.

He was talking about “a thousand marbles” to someone named “Tom.” I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. “Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital.”

He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.”

And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.”

“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the important part.”

“It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.”

“So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles.

I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.” “I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.”

“Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones…
“It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show’s moderator didn’t have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, and then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.”

“What brought this on?” she asked with a smile. “Oh, nothing special,” I said. ” It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

Viva La Revolucion!

Dateline 1246 Marbles

So we are now in Leon, Nicaragua for the week.  Leon is in the northwest quadrant of Nicaragua.  It is a great colonial city that rivaled Granada for power throughout much of Nicaragua’s history.  It is filled with universities and the largest cathedral in Central America.  However, the citizens seem to take the most pride in that Leon was the first capital of the revolution.

I have read a lot about the revolution prior to this trip.  All I knew before was some headlines about the contra’s that lead to the Iran contra fiasco.  As a Norte Americano, I saw it framed as a proxy war between Russia and the US for the control of Nicaragua.

I am by no means an historian or qualified to have a matured decision on this war and America’s role in it but I have learned it was quite complicated.  The Nicaraguan’s suffered for 50 years under the Somoza family regime and the people really wanted and needed change. 

Civil wars are always tragic in that it is countryman vs countryman and brother against brother.  All war is horrible but there is just something gut wrenching when a country aerial bombs its own cities.

You probably did not come to the blog today for a history lesson.  I write this because while we toured Leon I met several people who were part of the revolution and heard their version of the war.  In fact, we visited a museum on the square that is run entirely by ex-Sandinista fighters.   They give a personal history of what led up to the war and why they fought.

As usual most revolutions seem to get hijacked by a few leaders who seize power in the vacuum and use it to their own advantage.  That seems like it may be the case here in Nicaragua.  More on that later.

However, after reading before my trip, touring the city of Leon and talking to the actual participants of the revolution my perspectives are richer and it challenges some of the conventional wisdom I had prior to the trip.  Perhaps this encounter with history is one of the successes of our trip thus far.

 

 

PS – I was particularly happy that my Sandinista tour guide said they loved the people of the United States. He even gave me a big hug.  It seems apart from the rhetoric of a few aging leaders in Nica, the US role in the civil war is part of the past.  It was their civil war.  The Russians/Cubans and the Americans interfered in it but it was at its heart, a change brought on by the Nicaraguans themselves.

PSS – There goes my chance for the Republican nomination for President !

The end of the world or close to it

Dateline 1246 Marbles

I am not really sure where to begin with this entry.  I have been to the end of the world (or close to it) and returned.  More importantly I loved it!

After a great start at Pinas de Paz (www.nicanews.org) we travel to the Southeast corner of Nicaragua along the Costa Rican border.  We went to the small town of San Carlos.  To be honest we did not spend much time in the town, rather we stayed at La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge at the mouth of the San Juan River and the Rio Frio.

The rivers are odd in that they join each other at the mouth of Lake Nicaragua. Rio Frio flows into the lake and the San Juan River Flows southeast to the Caribbean.  The San Juan is the larger of the two rivers and is a well-kept secret for some of the best tarpon fishing in the world.

Like I said earlier, we stayed at La Esquina which is owned by a great French expat which put together a custom itinerary for Ruth and me.  Some fishing, some nature exploring and as much cultural immersion as we could find.  He nailed it.

This place is a tropical fish camp.  It could be on Lake Harding, in Alabama or anywhere men gather to fish and tell fish stories.  The rooms were clean and but spartan and to Ruth's surprise they have no hot water.  That is a theme developing on this trip.  There was a great deck where meals and stories were told at the end of each day.  Philippe is a great host and is eager to join any conversation.

Our two guides were Christian and Alejandro.  They shepherded us on a three day trip down the San Juan River.  On the first day down river we fished in some tropical rain, I caught a 30 pound snook which I am told is pretty big.  We were so excited and the fish jumped as it got to the boat that we did not take any pictures, so you will have to believe my fish story.

After fishing we stayed at a working farm along the river.  The rooms were very primitive and complete with mosquito netting and a bat looking for her baby (according to Ruth) at night.  Of course, it goes without saying, no hot water.  That night we went caiman hunting.  Well, actually, Alejandro went Cayman hunting.  It was fun and a great way to finish the day/night.

The cycles of living in Nica are really driven by daylight.  The sun rises and sets at 6 everyday all year long.  The day starts early.  For the faint of sleep, it starts real early.  The jungle is the loudest place I have ever been starting around 4-5 in the morning.  The roosters, howler monkeys and the dogs let loose to start the day.  It really is comical!  With that said, it is dark at six.  Electricity is a premium so everyone heads to bed around 8 after a good dinner, which always includes rice and beans.  Sometimes you have beans and rice.

After waking, I went fishing and Ruth enjoyed the farm.  She will post her experience with that.

One, if not the best part, of this trip is the people you meet.  Staying at the farm was a young brit and german couple who are hitch hiking from Guatemala to Peru.  They were very nice and had great stories to tell.  We meet another couple who were living on about $30-50 a day.  They were not thrilled about life in London.  They too were very good company during our time on the farm.

We left the farm for El Castille - a small town down river.  It has less than 2,000 inhabitants and no cars!  The only way to get there is by boat.   It was a beautiful town and very clean.  It gets its name from a Spanish fort built at the top of the hill.  The fort was built not to fight the evil British, rather to stop the pirates from attacking Granada on Lake Nicaragua.  The fort was well positioned because of the rapids on this portion of the river.

We stayed in a small hospedeja, like step above a hostel but not quite a bed a breakfast.  Oh and no hot water.  Really though at this point it would not mater.  The entire city had no electricity!  This is a routine in this remote area.  The remarkable thing is the entire town was calm and peaceful.  Could you imagine Atlanta or even Lagrange if we went three days without power in the summertime?

We kayaked the rapids and part of the southern portion of the river. All in all it was a very unique experience.

This ends the tourist part of this visit.  I will post some of the interesting observations and cultural observations next. 

Pinas de Paz - Ticuantepe

Dateline – 1247 mables

Ruth and I just spent 3 wonderful days with Robbie and Murray Lathrop at their missionary home and compound.  Robbie and Murray have been serving God and the people of a very remote village outside of Ticuantepe for almost 10 years.  Did I say remote?   I mean remote.  It is a 25-30 minute ride in on what some might call a road.  I would call it a goat track but that would offend the goats!  It is so bad, that Robbie has to rebuild the entire front end of his Land Cruiser every year.  You may drive a city slicker SUV but wouldn’t last 3 months in this environment.  It is nuts.

However, when you get to their place, it is paradise.  Pinas de Paz a missionary camp/retreat.  They host both foreign and local mission groups at their facility.  These groups provide some of the horsepower to help PdeP take on construction projects, school improvements, home-bound visits and other hands on support for the local village.  In addition PdeP provides quality employment to numerous locals.  This is a really big deal in a community with 60+% un/under employment.  It is hard to imagine what their community would be like without the Lathrops and PdeP.

I first met Robbie and Murray in November when I joined a mission group from Peachtree Road United Methodist.  Peachtree has a long standing relationship with the PdeP and I was so impressed I wanted to start my journey off by introducing Ruth to Robbie and Murray.  They provided great insights and prayer support for what will be a fun yet stressful adventure for Ruth and me.

Our stay was not all serious.  Robbie took me on a white-wing hunt in the shadow of the ACTIVE Masaya volcano.  Who can say that have shot birds with a volcanic plume in the background!  Ruth and I also hiked a nature preserve which was beautiful.  We saw Howler monkeys, various ground-based critters and green parakeets (think parrots, not the pet store variety).  Over 400 pairs of the parakeets nest in a cliff at the end of our canyon each night.  It was beautiful seeing and hearing them fly home for the evening.

After a great three nights with Robbie and Murray,  Ruth and I are headed out for San Carlos, Nicaragua at the mouth of the San Juan River.  This is by far the most remote part of our journey.

Note> we have had poor internet connections so my posts will be sporadic and pictures non-existent until we get back to some connectivity. 

The Eagle has Landed.

Dateline:   1248 marbles

So we landed in Nicaragua around 9:00 Wednesday night.  The flight was uneventful, if not a little entertaining.  I think most readers of this blog are still wondering, why Nicaragua and how can Delta, my hometown airline, fill a plane every night?

Well that is where I will begin.  Who were our travelmates on the flight? The composition of a flight to Nica is not the same as a flight to Paris or London.  It is a little more eclectic. A noticeable shortage of business travelers and well healed families off on an exciting getaway vacation.  Instead, I would say a Nica bound plane has 4 distinct groups.  I will start with the front of the plane and work my way to the back of the plane.

The first class cabin in rather small - 6 seats and was comprised mostly of group one of our travelmates - sport fisherman.  They were all decked out in Columbia PFG's with various sporting club logo's.  I recognized a past chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and several of his friends of all ages.  They were excited and headed to the San Juan River and to the Pacific coast for tarpon and marlin fishing, respectively.  We are heading to the San Juan River next week so a fishing update will follow.

We sat in economy comfort next.  Our seatmate was a wonderful young attorney from Salt Lake City who loved to travel.  She said she suffered from wanderlust!  She too was a fisherman and was drawn to the uniqueness of Nicaragua and the world class fishing.   To be honest we probably fit in that group.  So group two is the wanderlust traveler. There were several other couples and groups of friend who were traveling on a tropical bohemian adventure.

The third group was the largest.  It was Nica families traveling back to their homes.  It was a little bit of a party (very informal) atmosphere in the back where they all left their seats and were talking with one another.  Very respectful of other travelers but enjoying their time together.

The forth group is Other.  It was comprised of the surfer dudes who were obvious by their shaggy hair, laid back style and tattoos.  They are headed to the pacific coast to do some world class surfing, cheap.  In group four, were several missionaries and a few NGO people. The one other person in Group four was a Chinese national.  By the look of his bag tag, he was with some engineering company and worked the whole time on his laptop.  On my last flight down to Nica in November there were many more Chinese nationals.

Why the Chinese presence?  Nicaragua has announced that it has granted rights to a Chinese company to construct a new canal to rival the Panama Canal.  It is highly controversial in the country.  I plan on finding out more about the canal on our trip.  Suffice it to say, there is activity going on.  Who knows if it will happen but something is happening.

So that is it.  We had a fun group on our flight and we made it safely to our hotel in Managua.  Our friends at Pineapples de Paz (http://nicanews.org/) will pick us up on Thursday and we will catch up with them and see their unique ministry in Tiquantepe, Nicaragua. More to come......

All who wander are not lost…..

Dateline: 1248 Marbles


Well, it is too late to turn back now.  As of December 31, 2014 I am officially retired from North Highland.  After fourteen amazing years and over 650,000 of commuting miles, I have decided to retire from the best consulting company in the world.  So why would I do it?

It was an extremely personal decision driven by several factors all converging at the same time.  The primary reason, is I believe God has something big and new for Ruth and me in my second half.  So what does that mean?  I really don't know.  I know sometimes God hits you with a 2x4 and you turn to Him because you don't have anything else.  That was more the case when I joined NH.  I was laid off from Knology and had no real idea what I was going to do.  The good news, is God knew.  After a few weeks, I got a call from Dan Reardon, a fellow Andersen alumni, who asked if I would be interested in a short term contract CFO role for NH.  I said sure and this short term engagement ended 14 years later after an incredibly fun, challenging and rewarding time.  God had something in store for me then and he has something in store for us, now.

This time, I think both Ruth and I are more open to his calling and anxious to find out what His plans are.  Sometimes it takes a crisis to hear God, sometimes you can hear him in advance and heed his calling. It is our prayer that it is the latter.

Due to my commute, I have never been able to participate in LaGrange like I would like.  I love LaGrange and the community.  It is a great place to live and raise a family.  However, I feel it could even be better.  I want to take advantage of my time off to see how I could get involved in my local community and make a meaningful difference.  

Another opportunity Ruth and I want to consider is a real passion we have for central america and specifically, the country of Nicaragua.  I can not tell you why.  We have travelled several times to Nica and just fell in love with it.  So much so, we are leaving January 14th for a 10 week exploration of the country.  We are gong to travel all over the country to get to know the people, the culture, explore business and mission opportunities and maybe even learn a little spanish.  We end the trip joining our church in Guatemala for a mission trip.

Another reason for the drastic change is timing.  They say timing is everything.  The time seems right to  do something big.  At NH, it was probably time for someone else to say "no" to a great and challenging   CEO!  Hunter is off at Texas A&M and spends most of his summer in Texas so has effectively flown the coop.  Rachel on the other hand is back home after graduating from UGA.  She is applying to dental school and is in LaGrange working for a great local dentist.  This means she is home and can watch the farm while we leave for an extended period of time.  The kids are still in school and aren't married so there are no grandkids on the horizon.  Everyone says they will change everything once they are born.  The last timing element is my parent's health.  They are in great shape and God willing, will be so for many years to come.  Ruth's parents are a little older but are doing okay.  In any event we will be the same short flight away if needed.

So that's it.  The timing is great and we are anxious to find out what God has in store for us.  The journey has just begun so if you are interested following us, check in to this blog regularly  I promise most posts will not be this long!  We leave for Nica on January 14th to start the journey.  I leave you with the immortal words of Bilbo Baggins "All who wander are not lost".  That sums up the next few months for Ruth and me.