Bag Man

On one of those magical Saturday mornings when you don't have to be anywhere in particular, you can get up when you like, which might still be early. One of the kids will no doubt express their certainty that it's their turn to go to breakfast with Dad. And that might be so. If you don't have to be anywhere, you can go to breakfast, either at McDonald's (cheap, easy, painless), or at a soda, which is a small home style restaurant here, maybe no bigger than your tool shed. Either way there's no hurry, and you can enjoy a cup of coffee with your rice and beans, or Gallo Pinto. But before the middle of the day, you'll want to grab your veggie bag (that's mine in the picture) and saunter down to the feria. The feria is what Costa Ricans call the open air market, if I remember my English colloquialisms. Or maybe you call it a farmers' market. Either way, that's what it is. Produce and knick-knacks everywhere, mostly fresh, and mostly cheap. Do you save any money? I don't know, some would probably say not. Is it all about saving money? Well, saving money is probably not why most people grow gardens, but that's what we often say, isn't it? I go because I like to be there, see people and feel like I'm a part of things.

You Spanish speakers will be correcting me by now, pointing out that the bag in the pix is a sugar bag, not a veggie bag. I guess that's so. But it's been sewed and re-manufactured into a veggie bag, and resold at 300 colones, about 60 cents. And it doubles as a beach bag, too, and who knows yet what else. Are you the kind of family that goes to Grandma & Grandpa's house, and along with the suitcases you have about 37 WalMart bags with all the extras stuffed inside? We used to be like that, but now we have a veggie bag, and I love packing the car. You would, too, if you had one like mine. I may save up and buy another one.

I'm writing an entry here because I'll be heading to Honduras tomorrow so I can teach at a couples' retreat with the Church in Tegucigalpa. I'll enjoy being with so many of our friends there, and I'll be back on Monday night, so I hope I won't miss my family too much. But I'll miss the feria on Saturday morning, and I was just getting into the swing of making it a habit. I've been taking Wyatt with me, or Chloe, and so people are nice to me and fawn over my kids while I buy radishes. They offer sample fruit to me and marvel that a human being could learn another language. I've been eating salad a lot in what amounts to a parasite-prevention campaign, though I guess that could backfire (oh, that's a funny word in this context) if I don't wash my lettuce well. I've been thinking of experimenting with some homemade salad dressing recipes, and we've even planted a few tomato and pepper seeds in pots. But that will have to be on hold for another week, and so I write to spread the grief around. I didn't think anyone would mind.