Tanzania (Part 3)

I was met at the bus stop by Jesse himself. His familiar face, a bit more shaggy than I had remembered, erased my misfortune, both material and biological. Seeing his face again was worth it all. He drove me in the organization's land cruiser to the house his family stayed in. It was very cozy and secure. The Borden’s are beautiful people. I'm sure any mutual acquaintance will attest to this. And I knew this of course, just from knowing Jesse and his brother Trevor. Never-the-less I was struck by the beauty of their existence. I couldn't have asked for a better place to recover from my illness. I could have asked for a more pleasant illness though. The first night at the Borden’s I developed volatile diarrhea on top of the fever that had turned my sleep into one long semi-lucid nightmare. I literally shit myself that night and then again the next night. It wasn't fun. All the while my bread and cheese went uneaten; a total waste in the end, especially considering it might have been that long hot walk to retrieve the scrumptious victuals that initiated the onslaught of illness in the first place. Apparently I strained particularly hard during one of my frequent excursions to the toilet, a little too desperate to evict whatever was cruelly plaguing my intestines, not actually having eaten anything that would have created a substance to evict. The result was a hemorrhoid that manifested the day after I was certain I was getting better (about the 3rd or 4th day at the Borden’s) Jesse took me to a doctor who prescribed me some antibacterial and something else I don't really know, the whole visit, including meds, costing me $30. Whatever the Doctor prescribed worked like a charm and I was much much better in two days time. By this time I had been at the Borden’s for almost ten days. I had read all of my Buddha book, half of my Jung book, the whole of Pete Grieg’s new book about unanswered prayer (provided by the Borden’s), and the whole of Blue Like Jazz by (also provided by the Borden’s). I also read a few short stories by Flannery O'Conner (another Borden book as well). I also had very good conversations with Jesse. While watching him make drums we talked about life and religion and family and friends and girlfriends and futures and pasts and love and loneliness. These conversations made the trip for me. Also included, though not well remember because of the fever, were some parties, some movies, and some poetry, which I might include somewhere on this blog. I also remember trying and failing to make a pair of Masia tire shoes.