Family news

I finally got over my chest cold, but now Lolo is sick.
He is eating okay, just running a low fever and staying in bed most of the day.

We had a brown out most of yesterday, and today it's scheduled from 8 to five, but the generator is working okay so we have hot water and weak level air conditioning.

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We didn't go to church again, so the usual beggars noticed I was missing again, so they came to the door bringing the sampaguita garland we buy every week since the seller also "missed me"...and wanted see if I'm okay.

Of course they got their tip. They are quite expert in crying about problems because they know they'll get a bigger tip, but they seem to make a good living off of it: One of them showed me a graduation photo of her daughter who just finished high school last year. But sometimes they do need money, especially if they need to buy medicine (they bring a note from the public hospital or the prescription to prove they aren't lying).

one of the regulars was a girl with Down's syndrome who suffered from ecsema. She had family but they moved away and so she lived in the palenke. Social services finally got her a place to stay...

for those who don't know about the sampaguita garland, here is a photo of a seller...sometimes other flowers or IlangIlang leaves are used.

Lolo usually puts some on the graves in the cemetery, and we also garland Mama Mary's statue with them, placing on the statues as a necklace...

Pagan custom? No, a sign of honor because we figure our loved ones in heaven see the flowers and know we are remembering them.