Ed

A bright and early start for Mayagüez, where we breakfasted at Franco. Franco is the home of the traditional guava Brazo Gitano (literally "Gypsy Arm"), an exquisitely rich jelly roll filled with guava paste. They keep coming up with more varieties than just guava, and had an entire wall packed with varieties -- including several sugar-free ones.

Mayagüez was a two-hour drive. From Franco we drove another hour to San Sebastián to visit family and eat a splendid home-cooked lunch. Then a siesta for some, and the two-hour drive back home.

Puertoricans live in a different state of consciousness from the rest of us. This was brought painfully to mind on the drive home as we drove past mounds and mounds of garbage on the side of the road. Beautiful lush green foliage everywhere, often growing through or over the piles of discarded waste. This wasn't just beer cans and litter, it was washing machines and piles that would have required a pickup truck to dump. All just sitting there because someone thought himself too important to go to the dump.

Selfishness and lack of consideration abound. "Me first" -- or only. In traffic, in stores, in movie theaters, everywhere in public. Yes, of course it's a minority -- but it's a big one and an unstoppable one. They have no shame, no decency, and there's no way to instill shame into them. Say something or even look at them wrong and you're likely to get shot. So nobody says anything, the behavior continues and grows. With my visits spaced 3-4 years apart, it's glaringly obvious how the situation worsens.

Is it fixable? I don't think so, which is why I opted to move to a civilized town in a civilized country. But some of my friends and family think there are shreds of hope. I would love to see them vindicated.

Today was going to be time with Dad, but a dead body got in the way. So it became an errand day with Mom. Home Depot for fire ant poison, Sam's for household stuff, Ralph's for groceries. Sam's Club could have been anywhere: its layout was ust like the one in Santa Fe. Yet we were very definitely not in New Mexico: the cartons of Lotus pineapple juice, the dozens of Serrano ham hocks prominently displayed and attractively priced, the subtle absence of snowshoes.

And the diabetes. Wow. Loads and loads of sugar free foods. Cans of power shakes "specially formulated for diabetes". What's going on? CDC claims that ten percent of adults in Puerto Rico have diabetes. Holy piña colada.

On a possibly related note: one of the most wonderful aspects of PR is the plethora of bakeries. You're never more than a couple of minutes away from one, sometimes from several. Fresh bread is an important part of life. The downside, which nevery truly hit home until today, is that nobody bakes. Nobody. Supermarkets don't even carry yeast. Heck, they don't carry flour! If they do, it's a handful of small sacks - and it's only the bleached stuff. You really have to see it to believe it.

I was able to find a 1-pound bag of Fermipan at Ralph's, a local superstore. It was in the bulk foods section next to the gallon cans of bakery supplies. To find it I had to ask a manager; the store staff weren't familiar with the word "levadura" (yeast) and had no idea what it was.