![Livesay [Haiti] Weblog](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WImkelA85fQ/T774B_tbjMI/AAAAAAAANjM/Zup5rYTxdWs/s810/blog%2Bheader%2BTRL2011-07-07_%2B%25281%2529.jpeg)
Yesterday we bought four new tires.
It had to be done.
There are a handful of boring purchases a grown-up type person might make in the course of their grown up life. I am one million percent convinced tires are among the very least enthralling of them all.
Driving with a safe vehicle is important though. The driving here will always be stressful and less than predictable; our vehicle should be everything it can be ... Or something closely resembling that.
Troy lobbied hard for a motorcycle our first few years in Haiti. I must have finally shed enough dramatic tears because he never suggests buying one anymore. We made a deal in 2008 that once our youngest child is 15 he will get his motorcycle. Don't judge. That was a major compromise on my part. Until that day I prefer for his head to be intact and his limbs to be attached. The riskier people and those young and childless whipper snappers can jet around Port au Prince traffic on their motorcycles. Troy will continue to be forced to look longingly at them and wish for his youth.
Meanwhile we can remain a big family with a Daddy and a less neurotic and less worried Mommy.
Last week one day a moto driver hit Troy. When they got out in traffic to look quickly for damage and to talk - the driver said, "WHAT!?!?- I WASN'T LOOKING!!!" There was no arguing with such honesty.
This post is about the day we hit a motorcycle ... it is called 'Sometimes in Haiti you pay because you can.' (click on title to link) It showcases Troy's well hidden thespian talents.
Besides missing out on marrying a wife that likes motorcycles, he may have missed his true calling.
Enjoy.
It had to be done.
There are a handful of boring purchases a grown-up type person might make in the course of their grown up life. I am one million percent convinced tires are among the very least enthralling of them all.
Driving with a safe vehicle is important though. The driving here will always be stressful and less than predictable; our vehicle should be everything it can be ... Or something closely resembling that.
Troy lobbied hard for a motorcycle our first few years in Haiti. I must have finally shed enough dramatic tears because he never suggests buying one anymore. We made a deal in 2008 that once our youngest child is 15 he will get his motorcycle. Don't judge. That was a major compromise on my part. Until that day I prefer for his head to be intact and his limbs to be attached. The riskier people and those young and childless whipper snappers can jet around Port au Prince traffic on their motorcycles. Troy will continue to be forced to look longingly at them and wish for his youth.
Meanwhile we can remain a big family with a Daddy and a less neurotic and less worried Mommy.
Last week one day a moto driver hit Troy. When they got out in traffic to look quickly for damage and to talk - the driver said, "WHAT!?!?- I WASN'T LOOKING!!!" There was no arguing with such honesty.
This post is about the day we hit a motorcycle ... it is called 'Sometimes in Haiti you pay because you can.' (click on title to link) It showcases Troy's well hidden thespian talents.
Besides missing out on marrying a wife that likes motorcycles, he may have missed his true calling.
Enjoy.
10 comments:
Ugh, I can so relate to the motorcycle accident. Blake said living in Peru is like being violated everyday because someone is always trying to take advantage of us financially. Yesterday a notary tried to charge us 6x the regular cost of signing something! Thankfully we have Peruvian friends we always call before paying for anything that sounds ridiculous. Most days I have to go through 5 taxis before I find one who will give me a real price and not the gringo price. It always puts me in a defensive mode while out and about which makes life hard. I definitely need to start laughing about it more.
For nearly 30 years, I told my sweet husband that he could get his harley "when you are 50 and the kids are grown and gone". Oops!
He turned 50 last year. The older 6 kids are grown and gone. But ... we still have 6 at home.
I surprised him with a Harley for his birthday.
:) :) :)
When in Rome... I squirm thinking about my 15 year old driving a motorcycle, but I guess it would make sense for you all to have a couple of motorcycles there as it seems to be a major mode of transportation and is low on gas costs. Maybe you could get your 15 year old a very low powered one that can't go 150 MPH!
For your benefit...our husbands can never talk again. Mine is motorcycle crazy (that is an understatement)...and very persuasive. You're welcome! :-)
Oh wow - good thing I didn't leave my bike in LaDigue - that sure would've caused some trouble for you all.
As for tires - at least in Haiti there's a chance you'll get served a nice shot of espresso while waiting for your tires.
Of all my impressions of my recent short visit to Haiti and Heartline, Haitian roads and traffic are some of the most impossible to describe. Maybe you guys could shoot some video sometime: the tap-taps that drive on the sidewalk, the crazy manuvers people pull to avoid potholes, the dodging of downed power lines, the swerving to avoid wandering goats and pigs...it's incredible.
For the record, I'm with you on the motorcycle thing, Tara. Recently John McHoul has blogged about people in the Heartline circle who have had husbands or other relatives killed in crashes. In the car vs. motorcycle situation, the motorcycle rider frequently dies or is seriously injured. The convenience thing, however, is tempting for Troy, I'm sure. If only someone could market a jet pack for missionaries!
You see -- there is a well thought out math formula to this ... he HAD a motorcycle when we had two kids. I even went on it with him sometimes.
Then he sold it.
He was very close to getting one again when we had five kids ... then we moved here.
Now that we have seven kids there is an equation that went into effect ... I'd try to explain the equation but I know you're all really busy. It has to do with the square root of pie and how difficult Lydia and Noah can be multiplied times frustration and added to five teenagers in one house at once and divided by total and complete insanity.
In 12 years, when Lydia is 15 years old he can get on a moto/bike and risk his life. I can deal with raising a 15 and 16 year old alone ... the others will all be 18 and over by then. See how loving I am?
For the record - I am named after a person that died on a motorcycle - my fear of them is based in reality.
We have the same moto compromise. Well, except that HE hasn't agreed yet. He's still on the begging end. I am SO thankful that I can share with him that I'm not the only smart wife out there :)
This made me laugh so hard. It literally hurt.
I was just hit today by a woman who "was not looking." :( I am safe...and glad Troy is safe too!
The first time I had to be an adult and shell out big money for tires, my comment was, "You mean I spent all that money on new tires, and no one even noticed?!"
Post a Comment