I was doing something else and I remembered something that I hadn’t thought of for years. Here is what happened.
It was a hot August day. I had come back from my trip and had taken a shower to get the dust off. I was in Mexico and many cities there are dusty. If the city isn’t dusty the roads are, because many of them are in poor shape. If the roads are in good shape then the cab is dirty, so generally you have lots of opportunities to take showers. I always wondered if the cities were so dusty, where are the hotels getting the endless supply of water from?
I had sat down on the bed and was reading a magazine that was kept in the room. Suddenly I heard a knock at my door. Since the hotel staff never comes by and knocks and I hadn’t told anyone but my friend I was staying there, and she was doing a project, I didn’t know who to expect. I answered the door and my friend Benetta was standing there all dusty and so were 3 of her friends! Surprised I let them in and Benetta said “Can I use your shower?” Apparently, their showers broke. “Ok,” I said. I do what I can to help people. So her friends were using the bathroom while I talked to my friend.
Why am I sharing this with you? I have had some surprises lately in my life and I was thinking how funny life works sometimes. These were good surprises and I am glad they are part of my life. I have also been reading about how conditions are in other countries for people and how difficult life is. I think that it is natural that we sometimes forget that no matter how hard we have it in the US others have it worse. I can’t imagine not having Medicare, Social Security, or Unemployment Insurance. Those help so many people who fall on hard times. When I traveled to Mexico in the past, it was shocking to see old women and men who could barely move, out on the street selling things. I asked my friend why this happened and she said that they probably needed the money to survive. I asked what about the strong Mexican family structures and she said that it isn’t strong for everyone.
Sometimes friendships don’t work out and that one didn’t. She is a good person and I wish her the best. I think that we both had some issues that prevented us from being totally honest with ourselves and thus each other. It is sad that one of the problems of being immature is that you sometimes hurt people you don’t intend or want to hurt. I forgive myself and her, and everyone isn’t going to be a friend forever, unfortunately.