Things that make you wonder

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The other day, as I was walking through the market in Puyo, one of the vendors was selling used golf balls. Now, I thought about the irony in this - 1st the nearest golf course is in Quito about 5 hours away (there are only 4 in all of Ecuador and they are all private) , 2nd they were used, so where the hell did he get them (must be from the one of the four courses in Ecuador), 3rd who did he expect to sell them to? 4th at 5 cents a piece how could he possible be making any profit?

These are the kinds of questions that I will probably ponder long into the night as I toss and turn sleepless from the Mefloquin Anti-Malarial drugs I am taking. I may never find the answer to these questions, but I am going to embark on a quest to try and find the answers.

Until then, I have come up with a Top 10 List that may provide insights into the market for used golf balls in Puyo.

Top 10 Uses for Golf Balls in Puyo, Ecuador:

10. A dog toy for one of the bajillion dogs that roam the streets searching for any
type of food left by careless humans.
9. A deterrent for one of the above mentioned dogs - who often look at you as a
potential meal more so than a master or companion.
8. A new hunting weapon design to knock humans off of the back of pick-up trucks as
they ramble along packed to the gills.
7. A novelty egg (painted up of course with nice speckles) from an exotic species of
rainforest bird - just waiting to be purchased by some dumbass tourist.
6. An emergency plug for when diarrhea catches you off guard.
5. A fútbol for the size challenged in Ecuador
4. Painted it can easily pass for a new type of rainforest fruit - again sold to some
dumbass tourist.
3. As jewelry, they look an awful lot like giant pearls which are extremely rare in these
parts.
2. For the not yet formed, Yard Golf, Leagues that a certain Peace Corps volunteer is
pondering.
1. A simple tool designed to completely f--- with the head of one Jeremy King - if you
thought Spanish was hard, try figuring out a pile of used golf balls in the middle of
the jungle.

So there you have it, my first attempt at trying to explain the golf balls that I found. Please keep in mind that these views in no way reflect the views of Peace Corps Ecuador, they are solely my own, wacked out thoughts. Don´t worry mom, I have not gone off the deep end - I am perfectly sane - just having a little fun.

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Comments

[Bryan]

Golf
I think it might be divine provenence and you were meant to play the Big T in puyo. Now if only you could find someone selling a used golf club....

[tom driscoll]

frates
I suppose you already know that you'll have the makings of a good book by the time you're through. I am enjoying your entries. Your "Thoughts" formed the basis for much of the discussion at our last meeting. Thank you for sending them. The board has recently reorganized and most of the new members, including Stephanie and me, have not been to the Centro Desideri. So, it was good to get a clear-eyed assessment. We think that Umberto is to be commended for creating the center, for purchasing the land and building the structures. However, some of his attempts to initiate projects to help the local people have been less than successful. You can see evidence of that at the center; the empty fish pond, the weedy garden, the underused infirmary. We think that the primary problem is that the center lacks a trained person on site every day. The problem for us as an organization is that we do not have the funds to hire such a person. We are looking into grants to fund such a position, but I don't know where that will lead. Do you think that the Peace Corps could supply such a person? I'm asking you first because I'd like to know if this is even feasible. We would be willing to have this person live at the center and use the facilities as he/she saw fit. Basically, we would provide the infrastructure, the buildings at the center, and some other organization would provide the person with expertise in helping the local people. Let me know if this seems like a good idea. One of the catches to grant funding is that grant giving organizations want to see some successful projects before they committ funds, and we need the funds to begin successful projects. Get back to me when you can and give me your thoughts on this. If you think the Peace Corps in Ecuador would be interested in what we are proposing, I'd appreciate some contact information. Thanks. And thanks again for all your helpful observations. Tom

[Evelyn]

golf balls
You always was a little off balance. Should we send you one golf a month? Try planting them so people really will think you have gone off the deep in.