Nov 30 - The New Cement Patio Makes A Surprising Difference

It's not quite a yard
Still, it marks street's end, the space
that belongs to them

Nov 29 - Not So Tropical Today

My open-air desk
Leaves me chilled and shivering
The year's first cold front

Nov 28 - San Rafael Night With Carin And The Overly Loving Brian (Dog)

Red wine and cheese plates
Go down well on chilly nights
Planning for Belize

Nov 27 - The Optimist's Take: 10 More Feet Of Wall Height At Angelitos Really Brightens The Place Up

In other lands, you'd
just fix the water leak, but
here you raise the roof

Nov 26 - Drive Often Enough On These Long, Crazy Roads And It All Feels Commonplace

Off to Guarumal
Which I used to think was far
It's all perspective

Nov 25 - Really? The Country Wants These Guys For A Second Term?

Alas, the blues win
Why? Everything's been worse since
they came to power

Nov 24 - Election Day in Honduras

The street to the school
Is packed with voters wearing
Proof on their fingers

Nov 23 - A Cloudy Day Brings Out The Beastly Jejenes

An early pool day
To avoid the election
Insects chomp our legs

Nov 22 - How I Long For The Days Of Retail Therapy

Shopping in Copan
Nothing but new shirts too small
Or old shirts too old

Nov 21 - 'Tis The Season To Get The Order In

Christmas calendar
Takes hours, but I like it
Puzzling through our lives

Nov 20 - CASM Wins A Prize In Guatemala And Nobody's Got A Car

It takes five buses
To get to Esquipulas
A long way for lunch

Nov 19 - Off Goes The Cocoa Book, The Calendar And My Resume

Big projects finished
Year-end is coming up fast
The job search begins

Nov 18 - My Well Of Tolerance Appears To Be Running Dry, Or Maybe It's Because I Skipped Yoga

The devotionals
Can really get on my nerves
Must avoid Mondays

Nov 17 - Daisy Shuts The Door On Me Because I Challenged Her

The other shoe drops
Daisy says the kids can't leave
It's my punishment

Nov 16 - Even A 7-Hour Bus Ride Ends Early If You Start At 5:30

One bus, then two more
I let the touts hand me off
And am home for lunch

Nov 15 - Sometimes I Work Too Much When Alone In My Hotel Room

Head down and working
First with the mayor, then cacao
I want to go home

Nov 14 - Building A Biodigestor In Aceituno

I should be helping
But ankle deep in cow shit?
Got to draw the line

Nov 13 - The Tough Sell Of Pitching Civic-Mindedness To Young Lempirans

These blank young faces
Don't yet get democracy
They need to learn fast

Nov 12 - The Tomala Video Shoot Gets Off To A Good Start

Off to make movies
Bumping between the fincas
Eating mandarins

Nov 11 - Aboard The Amarillo On The Long, Long Ride To Tomala

Poor school bus, struggling
up long hills, dodging potholes
Not made for this life

Nov 10 - Lunch Treat At The Market For Seven Of The Wee Ones

Too cool for the pool
So we go for pupusas
And bakery treats

Nov 9 - My Wheedling, Threats And Bribes Go Nowhere

Daisy squeezes soy
She won't consider a truce
The kids lose again

Nov 8 - When All The Demands Of The Regions Collide

The pace is fevered
I put haste to projects so
More can take their place

Nov 7 - The Canadians Come And Fetch Us For A Very Good Meal

A finca dinner
Smoked chicken and apple crisp
First whipped cream in months

Nov 6 - I Could Use A Margarita At The Beach Right About Now

Stiff neck, itchy breast
The tropical life can't thwart
Tension and bug bites

Nov. 5 - Sisyphus Comes To Mind

I take Anil up
to the hogar, and wonder
if anything's changed

Nov 4 - You Think You Know A Dog Until You Catch Her Cheating

Across the river
I spot Beagley with two men
Who claim they own her

Nov. 3 - I Always Hated The Day When The Clocks Turned Back

This day was so bleak
back in Canada; symbol
of the dark to come

Nov 2 - In Any Other Land I Would Find It Weird To See Vegetables Drifting Downstream

Green peppers float past
Like nutritious offerings
From the veggie gods

Nov 1 - Day Of The Dead At Copan Cemetery

The graves look spiffy
The lime-green is great; it could
rock the afterlife