Jesterings

A Surprise

2011-02-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

Roger the Jester turns 37 this year. That’s right, I’m still working on it.

Recent experiences have confirmed my solid belief in the importance and longevity of my work.

While in Antigua this winter, I had the opportunity to revisit a 81 year old Antiguan woman who is an old friend of my wife's family. Two years ago, I had done a 79^th birthday performette, a small and intimate performance for her, her grand daughter, a caregiver and a neighbor, as well as my wife and mother-in-law, an audience of six. One of the things I did was to transform a paper napkin into a rose, a sort of origami manipulation.

I was not going to be on island for her birthday this year, so decided to visit her on Valentine’s Day. When I arrived, she was sitting out on her porch. After greeting her, and deciding to do my thing inside, where I had previously, she told me she had a surprise for me!! I was simply stunned when she produced that paper rose, that she has guarded dearly for the last two years!! It was a little tired looking, but a couple of twists and pinches spruced it right up.

Little did I realize, two years previously, what an impact and effect that simple little trick would have on this woman’s day to day life. Her caregiver said that she daily admires it and charges everyone to treat it with care and respect.

Now, I don’t make roses for everyone I perform for, yet I do believe that I do leave them with a memory, an imprint of laughter and light, that lasts a very long time. Makes me wonder, how many other roses are still out there?

Not only did I make her another white one, but my mother in law came up with a red napkin, and I made Dora three more valentine roses for her birthday.

Croix de Bouquets

2010-09-01T05:07:00.000-07:00

I am home now and catching my breath, but want to finish writing about my last two days in Haiti.

Thursday would be a travel day for us. We would go to PAP with LaFleur and his family, drop them at the airport and then continue on to Croix de Bouquets, where the orphanage is that I am delivering the quilts made by the Berkshire Quilt Society, the cash designated for them and doing a performance!

The drive to PAP is beautiful in the crisp morning air. We left around 9 am, and it definitely felt cooler as we went up over the mountains. It was great to see all the corn hanging to dry. I had only seen it once on my trip in May, but now it was to be seen everywhere. Huge bunches of corn hang from 30 feet in the air, suspended from a crossbeam in a palm tree. I assume it is to keep it away from rats and other nibblers.

There were also the huge baskets of produce waiting to be picked up. They are so big, I can't imagine how heavy one is. I finally see one being loaded up onto a truck by four men, lifting it straight up 5 feet onto the bed of the truck.

PAP is dusty, crowded, smelly, and loud. Certainly makes me glad to be spending my time in Jacmel. But that is not to say I wouldn't go there!!

Our driver takes us to CdB, about a 30 minute ride. It is an outskirting part of PAP, but has a nice, more peaceful feel to it. We check into our hotel, Club Continental. It is clean and comfortable.

After a phone call to Gerald, the director of the orphanage, we are met by Chantal, a young woman from the orphanage, who is very nice and welcoming. We agree to meet at 3:30 to go for the show.

After a short rest, we decide to wander down the street. The address for the orphanage seems to be on the same street as the hotel. The street has a wonderful feel to it, very neighborhoodish. We are a little confused by the numbers, ask and are directed a little further down the street. I then spot a banner across the street with FRADES on it. We found it!

Behind a large sliding green gate, sits a newly built house where the children now live. They are waiting patiently on the porch.

I launch into my show. They are so attentive and receptive. Laughter soon fills the house. What a gift it is to me to be able to help these children add laughter to their lives.

After the show, I open the big bag and start to pull out the quilts to give to them. I take the first out and show it to them, the second, third, and then invite them to help me 0pen them up. Soon I am surrounded by the children who receive the offered quilt, and open it to see the beautiful colors and patterns put together back in February by a group of Berkshire women!

What a pleasure it was for me to be the carrier of these quilts.

I then sit on the floor with them and make some jumping spiders, hand out rubber bands and pencils. I explain to them that although there weren't enough of any one item, they all would get something. And more important was the fact that the laughter that they had experienced was theirs to keep, and there was plenty for everyone to have their fill.

We bid them adieu and head back to the hotel.

Robin, Shaun and I sit around the pool and have a beer on our last night in Haiti. As we have our dinner on the veranda, the rain buckets down again into the night. Lightning flashes, illuminating the street briefly to show the foot traffic that seems to pay no attention to the falling rain.

la pluie ap tombe

2010-08-26T04:25:00.001-07:00

When I went for my morning walk and cafe, I was surprised to see that the little girl who I've gotten my cafe from every day this week was nowhere to be found. Once again I had taken the shoes to see if I could solve the mystery, but the saga continues.

We go up to Morne Oge for breakfast and then head out with two taptaps packed to the gills with people to go to Raymond Beach. It was a great ride through town and out into the country. I could ride around like this all day, especially if I could stop when I wanted to! I see lots of opportunities to perform, interesting activities and beautiful photos all missed due to the never ending rush to get there. Once again I am reminded how so many are focusing on the destination, not the journey!!

When we arrive at the beach, there are a few young boys around hawking shells that they have found on the beach. I make some jumping spiders for them with some packing straps that I found outside the kitchen. I also do a couple of rubber band tricks. I am so surprised that I see so many Haitian children with several rubber bands on their arms, not the silly shapes so popular in the States, but just plain rubber bands. I am reminded of all the ones I gave out in March and May.

As always, we are surrounded by vendors soon, the ground is covered with paintings pinned down with stones, two tables full of jewelry made of shells, wood, horn and plastic are carried and set right next to our table.

I go for a swim before lunch, the water is so warm, it feels so good to float in the bobbing waves and feel the sun beating down. When I get out of the water, I see the opportunity to do a little playing, so I grab my diabolo and head down the beach a bit to an open area. I soon am surrounded by about 30 people, mostly young boys and young men. They were very responsive and playful. Thankfully Kelsey had seen me and grabbed the video camera to capture some of it. One fellow who turned out to be one of the jewelry hawkers wanted to try his hand. He caught on rather quickly and for the next two hours, I would see him here and there up and down the beach showing off his newly acquired skill. I would check in every once in a while, give him some coaching tips, taking him to the next level. It was very satisfying to see him progress so quickly. At the end when I was leaving, it was difficult to ask for it back, but I am quite attached to some of my props and couldn't let it go. I also have more work to do before I leave! I talked to him about making one, and he was already thinking about how to do it. He said the next time I came he would have one that he would turn out of wood!!! That would be so cool . It could be the beginning of a diabolo revolution in Haiti!!

I had arranged to go to Caleb's feeding program on the way back with a little difficulty. It seems that there is some friction between the LaFleur camp and Caleb. Not really sure what it is all about, but I do not want to get in the middle of it. I merely want to perform for his children again. They do agree to drop us off. When we arrive, it seems sort of familiar, but I am disoriented. His tarp is in a different spot and there are tents set up in what before was an open area. The children had been sitting and waiting for us to arrive, so sweet. They break into song as we are given chairs to sit in next to them. There are about 80 in all, from 4 to 16. They are crammed onto the benches, eagerly awaiting. We all introduce ourselves, and I go last. And off I go. They were so happy to see me again. An old woman brought her own chair and sat right behind me, totally into the event. Caleb was wonderful in encouraging them to applaud.

We then help serve out the food. The littlest ones sat on the floor on the porch of the house, and we set the piping hot plates of wheat and beans on the floor between their legs. Then we formed a line and passed out the plates to all the older ones waiting patiently on the benches. No one ate until everyone was served. Caleb offered us some but we had just finished our lunch, so declined. He served himself last, and then gave his plate of food to a young boy who had managed to topple his plate to the ground; a little puppy quickly moved in to clean up.

Time was growing short, so we asked Caleb if he could get motos for us to go back to the hotel. It was a great ride back through the town; Kelsey and Shaun on one, Camilla and I on the other. Caleb and his cousin from NYC came with us back to the hotel to retrieve some shoes, sheets and clothes that we had brought down.

Soon it was time to return to Morne Oge for an event recognizing those children who had good grades in school. It was quite the fete, tons of food, cake and ice cream and lots of goodies being given out. The church looked very festive with all the balloons that Robin had brought with him. It bucketed down for a very long time, the rain pounding on the tin roof. It leaked in one spot. By the time the event was over though, the rain had stopped and we rode back to the hotel through the quiet abandoned streets, such a difference from day to night.

Stars started to peak out and the moon pushed her way through the clouds as we drifted off to sleep on our last night in Jacmel.

orphanage

2010-08-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

My day starts as usual, out for a morning stroll and cafe, then back to write.

The taptap comes at 8 to take us up to the church for breakfast. We play with the children again, they are so physical, I think I have a red ring around my wiast from all the grabbing and pinching to get my attention.

At 10, we all pile into the taptap to go see the new land. It is a beautiful ride there, through very lush greenery. Coralita grows everywhere, showing off its bright pink blossoms. Already it is blazing hot. Not a cloud is to be seen in the sky. Just as we are about to leave, an old lady and small girl arrive with a stack of amazing hats. One catches my eye immediately. We have fun trying them on in the shade of a tree. How is it that she is selling hats out here in the bush? Then I realize that I had seen the hats on a table at one of the houses we had passed to get here. She had seen us, and figured there might be a sale. We ended up buying three! She was right. What a beautiful sight it was. Of course, Zelmo was blowing his horn, ready to leave.

After lunch there was the feeding program again. I dried the hands of every youngster after they patiently stood in line to wash. A little wiggle and a shake along with a squeeze was usually enough to get a glowing smile from each one.

In the afrternoon we were taken to an orphange nearby. It was for boys only. They ranged in age from 8 to 20, probably 25 all together. I performed for them in the corner of a dusty soccer field in a small yard. they were so much fun, very open to laugh and cheer each other on as I called them up to volunteer. After I spoke to them a little and they asked questions, like why did I come to Haiti. It was great to voice my beliefs about the importance of laughter, not only in a disaster situation but also in every day life. They all nodded in agreement. One boy wanted to know how I threw the knots into the rope, so I taught him how, and found a shoelace on the ground that I gave to him to practice with. He picked it up quite quickly.

I was so parched after the show and noone had any water. I need to stay hydrated!!

After a short rest back at the hotel, we all wandered out to go to some shops. One mann recognized me from my visit in March!

We eneded up at the beach again, meeting up with our artist friend from Pinchinat. I told him that we had been there yesterday, but he had to go the the clinic because his tent had collapsed on himm in the night, bruising his chest.

He took a bracelet off his arm and put it on Kelsey's, asking her to wear it. It was beautiful. Upon closer inspection we saw that kit was wound wire. We commented on how creative it was, and he disappeared up the beach. He came back in a few minutes with wtrands of phone wire, electric cord and copper wire bouncing from his hand. In about 10 minutes he created another. they sere so great, we asked how much he could make them for. We then asked him to see how many he could make before we left on Thursday. He accepted the challenge!! We will see. I siad no more than 2000.

When we got back to the hotel, Lindor Wilking was there with his soda pop bags. Robin had a long chat with him about commerce and pricing. What an opportunity for this young man to learn from someone in that business. i got two beauties from him to bring home.

It was another full on day.

Pinchinat

2010-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love waking early and hearing the town come back to life again. The nights are incredibly still, but soon before daybreak, the wheels start moving again.

I walk to my morning cafe spot, the young girl is still there. I figure the concession has been handed on to her. Her mother? has moved on. Without her new size 8 shoes.

We are off at 8 am sharp to return to Morne Oge. Today will be the second and closing part of Robin and Camilla's art workshop.

Again, it is so nice to be greeted by name as we arrive. Already the young boys are busy painting one of the new houses. I go and see it and joke with them that it will be my house. Gabby replies "kai." I am puzzled. That is my son's name. i soon learn that in Kreyol it means "my house." Sweet.

I see a woman doing laundry and I give her my shirt to wash. She accepts it without missing a beat. I later see it hanging on the line amidst her wash. I like the idea of me being in the middle of it all. After lunch she walks up to me and hands me a beautifully folded clean shirt. She asks for nothing and walks back to her "kai," I follow her and give her 25 gourdes, less than a dollar, for her services, she gives me a huge hug. Win, win, win.

Shaun is busy repairing some of the table that have broken. It's a challenge, but we find tools here and there, find some extra lumber, and with the help of some of the young boys, he makes the tables sturdy enough to sit on. Before they had collapsed when asked to bear that kind of weight. it was great to see the young boys assisting him, they must have learned how to make it stronger.

Kelsey is constantly holding a child. At one point a boy of 6 snores away on her shoulder.

I go for a bit of a walk down a path I hadn't been on berfore, it is beautiful walking down the dusty path. Soon I hear my name being called. I look across a small valley and I see Souvenis, one of the cooks and several children. Next they are running toward me repeating Roget, Roget, Roget. They take me by both hands and lead me to their home, a tent set on top of the small hill. Her husband sits on a moto holding a baby boy, not yet one. I meet her family of 6 and she shows me the state of their tent. It has rips on every side, patched with tarp, but certainly no longer waterproof. After 7 months in the sun, it hs become so brittle, that it rips very easily. And with 6 children, the oldest maybe 14, I can only imagine the activity. Her daughter cooks some rice over a small coalpot. She sends me off back to the church with one of her daughters, we walk hand in hand the whole way. So touching and poignant.

Today it is very hot, with not a cloud in the sky, the temperature bakes the earth and anything on it. We all are exhausted from the heat. But like magic, just when the time is right, those little sachets of water appear, the perfect amount of good tasting rehydration. And ice cold!! How can that happen in this blazing heat? Later in the day I had one that still had ice inside, so they might buy them frozen? However it happens, it is always so refreshing and revitalizing.

At one point, there were several children sitting in the back of the taptap. I climbed in with them and had so much fun. We all pretended that we were moving in the truck. First i would call our allez, allez, allez. Then we would bounce up and down going over the bumpy road, then a corner to the left, more bouncing, then a right, more bouncing, then a HUGE bump, more bouncing, then a stop. And then repeat, again and again and again. We did it so many times, the children chortling with glee, that finally Fedony yelled at them to be quiet. He hadn't seen that I was the instigator of all the noise. So then we pretended to sleep, wake up, wash our skin, eat some food, and sleep again. This went on for some time until it was time for our lunch.

After lunch, we helped carry the plates of rice and beans out to the younger children. I danced with the plates, they laughed. I then helped dry their hands as they stood in line to wash before eating. I made it fun, they lined up to have me dry their hands, I shook their arms as I dried, making it fun.

We left at 3 to visit some tent cities. We first went to Pinchinat, where I had been back in March. It is much smaller now. They have moved many people out. There are drainage ditches to help deal with the rain. The latrines are brightly painted, one for men and one for women in a different part of the camp. We stop under a tree and I hop out of the truck and start to set up for a show. There is a lot of distraction with all of us, so it is a slow beginning, but as I continue the crowd grows, not as large as in March, but understandably, there are fewer people here now. Nevertheless, the children are delighted and the adults join in as well. I had hardly finished and Zelmo, our driver was in the truck beeping his horn for us to get in. A man came and asked me to do another show in another part of the camp but we were whisked away before it could happen. That did not sit well with me.

We then drove to another camp, this one newly set up, possibly with people from the one we had just visited. It was very orderly, with streets, drainage ditches, lighting and new tents. Very impressive. It seemed that we were going to just drive by, but I could not let the opportunity go, so I asked to stop. It was a very sweet show. An elderly man was totally into it and kept commenting back to the rest of the group. A woman watched from inside her tent from across the street. I knew because I kept hearing her laugh. I was so glad that I had asked to stop. Again, I had barely finished and Zelmo is blowing his horn again. I was not happy with his impatience.

We asked to be dropped at the beach for our daily end of the day routine. It is a great way to end the day, it is so beautiful there, there is so much to watch, and it always offers an opportunity.

We decide to walk back to the hotel, picking our way along the dark streets, stepping around heaps of rubble, avoiding the oncoming motos and trucks, and going with the flow of the people on the street..

Dinner was great, we had asked for some real Haitian hot sauce and one of the cooks had mixed up a special batch for us. It was heavenly, definitely making for the best meal we have had yet. We ordered a couple of bottles to bring home.

Sunday church

2010-08-23T04:25:00.001-07:00

I was up early, out for my morning cafe and looking for my cafe lady who asked for the size 8 shoes. I have the shoes, but now she is not to be found. In her spot is a young girl, maybe 12, who now seems to run the show. I will keep trying to find her. I buy a beautiful avocado, and when I come into the hotel, one of the workers asked me to follow him. He took me to his room where he presented me with another avocado!! Delicious.

An early start today at 7:15 to go up to Morne Oge for breakfast at 7:30. The childrens' service at the church starts at 8. I quickly eat and head for the church, where already the children are arriving, dress to the nines, no, tens. Neatly braided hair adorned with beads of all colors, ribbons and barrettes. The boys look smart in their long pants and button shirts. A steady stream is coming from all directions. As they arrive, they are ushered into the benches, packing them in. by the time the service starts, there is no more room. I had sat way in the back, but had to give up my seat, there was not another space to be had anywhere. There were probably 200 children. They were led in song by two young girls on microphones, Fedony on electric piano and after a while a drummer joined in. At one point we were all called to the front. I introduced "the team" and then did a short performance that went very well. I hadn't done a performance here since my first visit in March, though I have spent quite a bit of time here playing with the children. by 9:15 it was over, with the adult service to start at 9:30. The exchange of all those bodies was quite a sight, for there was a churchful of adults waiting to get in as the children came out. I spent the next three hours playing with the children, teaching rope tricks to a couple of the boys, and juggling with many of the children. There was lots of singing, we were again introduced, Robin was well received when he spoke in French to them.

As the service wore on, many of the tiny children were brought out, it was very hot in there, and in spite of the sachets of water that were delivered many times, it was very hot. Amazing how just when I am feeling in need of water, two women appear carrying a basket ful of ice cold water sachets!

I went over to the kitchen and helped wash the mountain of dishes that were there. It was very pleasant in the shade of the tree and the gentle wind blowing. I rinsed the dishes in a large pan of water and stacked them in plastic laundry baskets to dry.

A large truckload of water was delivered. It was the first time that the cistern was being filled, so it was very exciting. It was a large tanker of water, and containers of every size appeared to hold and carry this precious commodity. The large green snakelike hose spewed out the fresh water into every waiting receptacle.

Finally the service was over, LaFleur had delivered a scorching sermon to the packed crowd. They had built this church because the other was too small. And now already this one is bursting at the seams.

After lunch, we came back to the hotel to rest, the midday heat having taken its toll. We we out for a walk later, stopped at a shop to look at some paintings and there was a little boy, maybe 18 months old, in the care of his grandmother. She called a neighbor to hold him while she dusted off the goods for us to see. I put my arms out to him and he reached up to me. He was such a little cherub, by the time I gave him back he was giggling away from the little game of "dive bombing him" back toward his caretaker's arms.

We had a wonderful meal tonight. I suggested we move the tables out from the covered area out onto the open deck under the stars and the nearly full moon. It was idyllic. I invited our servers to join us at the table. Usually they eat after us and keep their distance. They shyly joined us. We learned that it was three generations who had brought us the food. Grandmother, mother and young girl. It was so nice to have them eating with us. We are all one, and we are in this world together.

Papa Noel

2010-08-22T03:41:00.000-07:00

I got up early, went out on the balcony and who do I see across the street but Vladi! It was so nice to be greeted on my first morning here by a friend. He and I went down the street to find an avocado and bananas for Kelsey, since she didn't have any dinner.

When I got back, Kels and Shaun wanted coffee, so we went out again, this time carrying the size 8 shoes that my cafe lady had requested. She wasn't there, probably her daughter was there instead, we sipped the hot sweet cafe with the anise flavored milk.

When we got back we met with LaFleur to hear what he had planned for our day.

We would go to Morne Oge for breakfast and then he had organized for the children to come at 10 to do this drawing project for Robin and Camilla. He had invited a few, he said; as the time arrived, there were a few. Many called out Roget when they saw me. What a warm reception I was given.

A young boy mimed my actions of juggling. Another took a rope that I had and DID one of my tricks!! I taught him more. What a quick learner he was.

The drawing project went very well. By the end, there was not a space left at any of the tables, they drew on the benches, hunched over their papers. i found a couple of young girls with tears trickling down their cheeks. They had been asked to draw about the day of the earthquake. It would not have been my choice to ask them to revisit that day, but it is not my project. I continue my work outside.

It was amazing what they did produce though. The older the children were, the more graphic the images were. The ages ranged from 4 to 22. Some of the older boys were busy the whole time, using rulers to draw wonderful representations of their homes.

After lunch we rode back to the hotel for a rest. We then took a walk through the market. I juggled long sticks of soap. One of the market streets is filled with rubble, yet the selling goes on, next to and on top of the jagged bits of concrete and stone.

In several places, I nearly lose my way because the buildings are gone. Where there once was a heavily damaged building is now an empty space, completely gone. Progress continues at its Haitian pace. There are piles of cement blocks, gravel and sand in many places, waiting to be formed into a new building.

Shaun had commented on how he would love to see how they make their rope here; as we wandered toward the beach, I saw a man making rope!! We watched his hands twisting and turning the strands into a beautiful two strand rope. A huge ball of it lay at his feet, easily over 100 feet. Seeing us standing there, an artist who was on his way home for the day, set his paintings down at our feet along the curb. Robin and Camilla bought a beauty.

As we stood there, a man came down the street with two white men. He recognized me and came and gave me a big hug. I recognized him from Pinchinant, the tent city I visited in March. I have picture of his family. He told me in words and actions of how I had entertained the children, and that they refer to me as Papa Noel.

He joined us on the beach for a drink. He spoke very eloquently of his plight in the tent city, caring for his children and dealing with the daily challenge. His English is very good yet he would lapse into French often. Robin continued the conversation then.

It was getting late, so I arranged for moto taxis to take us back to the hotel. Certainly a real Haitian experience not to be missed.

A wonderful soup made of banana, plaintain and cinnamon awaited us. It was a very comforting way to end our first day here.

hey you

2010-08-21T04:27:00.000-07:00

As the plane taxied toward the runway, the captain came on and announced that there was a technical problem and they were working on it. Yikes. We sat for about 45 minutes on the tarmac, he came back on and said that they had solved it. It seemed to be a routing issue, not equipment. So we were nearly 1 hour late in departing. Flight time was 3hours, 39 minutes. Amazing how close Haiti is to JFK. I'm not really sure how it happended with leaving so late, but we arrived 10 minutes early!! he must have taken a shortcut.

Kelsey and Shaun were there waiting for us in the hot baggage claim area, fans move the hot air around us. We finally got all of our bags and head out into the gauntlet of porters. I was looking for a familiar face, but saw none. I left the others with the moountain of bags and ventured out with one porter who said he would help me find my driver. I didn't remeber that it was such a long walk but as we moved along insude the fenced area, a one armed man came toward me calling "Roget." I didn't recognize him, but he seemed to know me. He said that my driver had sent him. I trusted him, how else would he have known my name. He also knew the name of the white woman, Julie, who I had read about in one of LaFleur's posts. So, we went back to gather the others and the bags. It all sent quite smoothly, except when we got out of the fencexd area, the driver was nowhere to be scene. I didn't have a phone number with me, so Jackson, the one-armed man, assured me that he had probably gone to get food and would be back soon. We had little choice but to wait. Robin struck up conversation with an elderly porter in French. Jackson was perturbed, saying that the man was trying to get our money.

After about ten minutes, I saw a familiar face, it was Jean Marie, one of the young men from the church with a white woman. They said that they had been waiting for us and didn't see us come out.

We loaded our gear into the van, and started our trip to Jacmel. The roads getting out of Port au Prince are still in horrible shape, traffic is heavy and the road is extremely rough, yet passable. It is good that we are going slow though, it is a good way to see all there is to see. The trip went quite well, arriving in Jacmel just before 5. It did seem a lot longer that the 2 1/2 hours largely because of the massive amount of visual stimulation.

At one point, somewhere up in the mountains, the driver stopped to go to the bathroom. As he disappeared into someone's yard, toilet paper roll in hand, we all decided to get out and stretch our legs. I wandered up a path and saw a group of boys playing soccer with what passed as a ball. I knew that

Robin and Camilla had brought new soccer balls to give away, and I thought this was a perfect opportunity. here we were way out in the country, pretty sure that these people were not on anyone's radar for help. I went back to the van, proposed the idea, pulled out the ball, and took the needle out of my pocket that 12 hours earlier I had used to deflate the ball. I blew it up as best as I could with lungs alone, and we all headed back up the hill to pass it on. Robin was very chatty with the boys, encouraging them to make sure that it was properly inflated. What a sight to see, their old thread bare dusty ball next to the new shiny red one. Within seconds, it was on the ground and the game continued. As we turned to go back to the van, one of the boys yelled out, "hey, you!" We turned and saw them all waving to us shouting "Merci."

Our arrival in Jacmel was so wonderful. We were greeted warmly by the staff and LaFleur. After the rooms had been sorted out, I went and got cold beers for everyone, a 7 up for Camilla. She was amazed at how big the bottle was. As we drank, a procession of food arrived, we went up on the roof and had a yummy stew, unfortunately, it had meat in it, and Kelsey didn't eat. She said she wasn't all that hungry. By the time we had finished eating it was dark, yet just 7 o'clock. We were all very tired, so all turned in, getting a good night's rest before our early start tomorrow. LaFleur wants to meet us at 7:30!

Troisieme fois

2010-08-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

Sitting in JFK, waiting to board my flight that will take me back to Ayiti for my third trip since my first time in MARCH. The waiting area is full of Haitians, I see only three other Blancs. I’m not sure if that is good or bad. Is Haiti being forgotten?
I love seeing the faces of Haiti again and hearing snippets of Kreyol. I am ready to roll. Kelsey and Shaun flew out of LaGuardia at 0600 and will be waiting for us in Port au Prince when we arrive.

blog search

2010-07-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

A friend was here over the weekend, and came up with this little gem!

Kudos to Roger the Jester

Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

We just returned from the 30th Old Songs Festival of music and dance, held in Altamont, NY. Among the performers, there is a clown called "Roger the Jester". He is one of the few who return every single year. In his act, he is mute, never saying anything. But this time, they presented him with a special thanks, one which required him to speak.

It seems he has gone to Haiti twice recently to help the earthquake victims in the only way he knows how, as a clown. As he said, there are seven things that everyone needs in order to exist. Most we know: food, water, shelter, freedom from oppression... But the last was "play" and that is why he was there, to allow them to have some fun for the first time in so many months. Before he was done with the brief things he had to say, Roger was openly bawling at the thought of the terrible conditions those poor folks have to endure and their grateful reaction to him for bringing some minutes of fun to their lives. And so were the 500 people in the audience, including me.

People who give of themselves in ways such as this are unsung heroes in this world. Nothing dramatic or earthshattering, barely newsworthy, but they are out there helping in the ways they can, one on one, doing something meaningful without expectation of any reward other than having done what they could when it was most needed.

I am adding Roger the Jester as one of my MySpace heros, as a representative of the many people who, when it's needed, cut through the crap and just DO what needs to be done.

photo from Ben Kregel

2010-06-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

more great photographs from Ben at

http://picasaweb.google.com/ben.kregel/HaitiReliefMay2010#

Lost baggage

2010-05-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have been home physically for over 24 hours. Still waiting for my brain to arrive. Seems to have gone the lost luggage route. Will write more later, but in a nutshell, it took me more time to get from JFK to home than it did from Haiti to JFK. Any guesses?

Surprise endings

2010-05-28T03:45:00.000-07:00

27 May

The sun is shining when I wake, that’s a good sign that today is the day when I will actually perform for the kindergarten.

Fanel is waiting for me when I come out. Everything looks good. We walk to the school, where I seen it while wandering. We are met at the end of the alley by a wheelbarrow full of rubble. As we round the corner, there is a sea of orange helmets. The crew that I have seen working at different sites around the city has moved on to its next assignment, right across the narrow alley from the school. As we enter the yard, expecting dozens of little faces, I am stared at by empty chairs and tables. There is no school today because of the demolition work. Tomorrow too. They expect to be done by Monday, two days after I leave. What a disappointment. I can’t believe this is happening again. I had specifically requested this performance, and if it weren’t for my meeting Fanel on the street, it probably wouldn’t have even got this far.. I am bummed. Fanel didn’t know about it either. He makes a quick phone call and asks if I would like to go to another school in Cay Jacmel. It will be a taptap ride, but it is ok if I want to. I am all geared up, so we jump for it.

The school is outside of Jacmel, along the coast. It is a small school, five classrooms, all with male teachers. The children do not have uniforms, a first for me here. The director of the school volunteers to shoot video for me. I show him how to use the camera quickly. I go out in front of the school and the children gather around. Soon there are children from two other schools there too, I can tell by their uniforms. They start out very quiet,not quite sure what to make of me. Little giggles are stifled, but they warm up and soon laughter is ringing out, more people arrive. The school is out in the country, so I’,m not sure where they were coming from. It ends up with well over 100 people there. I am dripping with sweat in the morning heat, but it is all worth it. One rector takes me from class to class and takes my picture in every one. Very sweet. He wants to know when I will come back. One girl wants to learn how to juggle, bvery brave of her in fronmt of the whole school. She tries valiantly, but has some trouble.. A young boy thinks he can do better, but finds it difficult as well. I do think she understood what the pattern and rhythm are, I’m pretty sure she will figure it out on her own.

There is a moto that offers us a ride, but Fanel says we will catch a taptap. But the idea of a moto ride and the breeze cooling me off is too tempting, so I convince Fanel that I will pay for the moto. On the way back we see a man throwing pots on the side of the road. I ask if we can go back and watch him, and WE DO! This is a first for me here. Usually when I am being transported somewhere, there is no stopping al9ong the way for any reason other than a flat tire or someone vomiting! His wheel consists of a tire rim mounted on a post. It spins very freely as he nudges it along with his hand. He is just finishing one large pot as we arrive. He has a jig set up with different shapes of tin wedged in place with shims. Very ingenious. Next he throws the platter for the base. Totally fascinating to see this master at his craft. Soon there are other people stopping to watch him work. They probably pass him every day but never take the time to watch him at his creativity. I am glad I stopped to watch. I loved how he would scoop cement powder out of the bag and dust the platter to set it. I surreptitiously drop some money into the cement bag as we leave. I would have loved to see his surprise the next time he dipped into the grey powder.

Fanel leaves me on the moto to go deliver some letters, we head for the hotel but are detoured. The road is closed for some reason. My driver knows the back streets,, so we worm our way there, passing by the Marche Acrobate where I performed the other afternoon. It was fun to see the space back in its normal form, not teeming with people and ringing with laughter,

I just get into my room when I hear a band playing. I rush out onto the street to see the band disappear down the street followed by throngs of people. I gather that some bishop in the Catholic Church is visiting and these are his followers, literally. I didn’t see him but I heard he was wearing a pink hat! Is that a miter?

I returned to my room and decide to review the film shot by the director of the school I had seen him moving around a lot, hettingt lots of different angles and shots so was excited to see what he had captured. To my shock, there was absolutely nothing on the camera he had shot. It seemed that he had never turned the camera on, never pushed the record button. I am very bummed. Here was finally some footagte shot by a Haitian of a school show, and NADA. It was a great show with beautiful children. The good thing is that it is in their memory, just not the camera’s .

I go for a little walk, to visit one of the local artiste’s shop. He is not there, but I get a couple of things to bring home. As I’m walking back, I hear my name. It was my moto driver from this am.

I spend some time in the afternoon starting to organize to pack. I leave the day after tomorrow.. Fanel kept asking when I will be badk. The director of the school wanted to know when I will return. I will go into my busy season when I get home. I can’t see getting back until September or October. It seems like a long time.

I battled with going out in the afternoon. I realized I have been out multiple times every day I have been here. I decide to take a break. I am greeted by a light rain as I step outside the hotel. I did decide to just go and sit on the street and watch the late afternoon traffic. To my surpirse and gratification, I am greeted by many people who recognize me. That felt really good that in my short time here I have touched many lives, bringing a little light and a little humor to their Haitian lives.

I check my blog. I can only assume people are reading it.. It is very different than performing where I can see my audience and feel their reactions to my work. This writing thing is very differentl. In the time I have been here, I have only received 4 comments. Oh well.

I go up onto the roof to watch the rising full moon. It is beautiful, fighting it’s way through the scudding clouds. I thought that it represented the quality of lightness in a Haitian’s life. It is there, for sure, but sometimes it gets covered up, but it is still there, and with a little patience, it will appear. Hopefully my work here has been like the wind, helping to push the clouds away so the moon can be clearly seen and appreciated.

I hear my name. I see that Lindor Walking is on the roof with me; he comes toward me and presents me with another of his wonderful recycled soda bottle bags. This one has a cover. In the inset where his name was on the other one I bought were these words; Lindor Walking and Roger the Best, Haiti 2010. He wanted me to buy another bag. How could I refuse with such an inscription? He wants to return tomorrow to have me take his picture.

And so ends another day here in Jacmel. This one was full of unexpected endings.

There has been a plan afoot to go to Bassin Bleu tomorrow with Caleb and Caleb, Ben and Nick, I think it would be good to end my trip with a trip there, supposedly we will leave around 11. I’ll see what transpires.

by request

2010-05-27T05:45:00.000-07:00

26 May

After my morning ritual of café on the street, I come back and organize the room a bit so that they can change the sheets and sweep. It dawns on me that I’m leaving in three days time.

Fanel is to meet me at 8 :30 to take me to La Pouponniere. It’s not raining, so I am excited, only to find out that there is no school today due to a demonstration planned against the government. Strike two.

We agree that we will try again tomorrow. I’m running out of time to do this one show I’ve been looking forward to. We’ll see what transpires.

Vladmi is also there and reminds me that his friend Junior wanted to cut my hair. He calls and says that Junior is on his way. I go change out of my performance kit and am ready to go. We walk through the morning traffic into an area that I’m not familiar with, at least I’m seeing some new territory. He opens his shop, a narrow slice of a building with two barber chairs, really more like a hair salon chair. To my surprise, another guy starts cutting my hair!! Certainly not a problem. it’s Junior’s business I learn and he cuts too but not me!! He throws in comments and suggestions as the scissors snip away. He cuts my hair with the same meticulous attention I’[ve witnessed during my whole trip. It felt like he was cutting one hair at a time.

Junior had brought along a safety pin, and siad he had tried to replicate a trick he had seen me do unsuccessfully. He wondered if I would teach him. He was overjoyed when I complied. We talked about magic, the mystery and power of it, and the barber commented on the difference between magic and a trick. For them there is a real distinction. Magic has to do with voodoo and there need be some hidden power in order to do it. A trick is just a trick. I tell them that for me the difference is in the motivation. Magic is used to control and maintain power. A trick’s purpose is to amuse. It was a very interesting discussion. Junior is thrilled with the tricks I have taught him.

Rain pelts down as the haircut is finished. I watch the parade of people passing by in the rain with every possible contraption to hide from it. Seven school boys move like a centipede under a blue tarp..

A cardboard box serves as an umbrella. Real umbrellas in every stage of disrepair do the trick. And then there are so many who just walk on through the falling water. People are soaked to the skin with nary a care it seems. The rain doesn’t last long, though it did come down rather hard. As we walk back toward the hotel, water shoots off the roofs of buildings through a pipe. Water runs down the street in mini torrents, carrying along bottles, paper and bits of trash.

As I neared the hotel I was so pleased to see Abel Michel, the old artiste who lives close to the hotel.. I have looked for him ever since mya rrival and have never seen him or any semblance of life at his gallery. I assume he lives there too. I have asked several people and noone seemed to know anything about him, so it was with great joy I saw that he is alive, well and he seemed to remember me.

Early in the afternoon, I decide to go to the market. I have a great time, playing, I juggled large wooden ladles, did a rope trick, and joked with the vendors. I wandered up to the main square and as I passed some young men called me over. They were dancing to the music of the radio station that broadcasts out of a t5ent there. I ended up doing some tricks, I didn’t have all my gear with me, but a piece of string, a rubber band, a couple of balls and a bottle off the ground was more enough to get them going.

I have started to make a small collection of pieces of rubble that still have paint on them, I have found many colors, not sure what I’ll do, but it keeps me wandering about.

A young boy follow me as I leave,. He speaks a little English and is not pushy about asking for money, he is good company as I walk. I go back to the shop where Sarah and I saw them painting the paper mache’. I blought a beautifully painted mango, incredibly light in weight and delightful in its coloring.

As I walk back toward the hotel, the young boys bids me farewell and returns to his life, hopefully a little brighter now that we spent some time together.

I take another rest, I am feeling tired after 11 days of performking here, but recharge quickly after a little rest in the room.

I go out for my afternoon performance. I am quickly joined by Lindor Walking, the basket maker, who asks if he can join me. Its always nice to have someone to come along. His English isn’t very good and he slips in Creole easily. I had an idea of where I wanted to go, so I lead the way. We had not reached the spot I had planned when a small group of women and children nearly demanded a performanbce. I gladly complied and was soon surrounded by a crowd that was several people deep, probably about 150 strong. Their laughter fills the afternoon falling light.

As I walk back to the hotel, I am beckoned across the street by a man sitting in a rocking chair in front of his shop. He asks for a show. I explain that I have just finished one and am quite fatigue, but he is very persistent. I do a couple of little tricks and soon there are about 25 men standing around me wanting more. A couple of coin tricks, a safety pin and my scarf are called in service. They do the trick, the men are laughing heartily. I love how they tease each other about each tirck I do. The man offers me the rocking chair to sit in after and sends for a drink for me.. What a beautiful way to end the day, rocking, sweating and surrounded by laughing men.

Sister Teresa

2010-05-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

25 May

From before daylight I could hear the rain outside my window. Not a downpour, but rain nonetheless. The last time I had arranged to perform at the preschool, I got rained out. Fanel had said that there is not a space inside large enough for all the children. So when I went downstairs at 800 am, my hopes were not very high. What happened though because of the rain was quite marvelous. Vladimir, who is probably 16, saw me and came across the street to greet me. His English is quite good, and he wondered where I was going. He said that he had no school because of the rain. He said laughing, when it rains in Haiti, there is no school. He saw that two of his friends were standing out of the rain on a porch across the street. He called them over and introduced them. They too spoke English quite well. He asked about juggling and said that he had already been juggling at his house this morning. I did n’t have any equipment with me except for the rubber bands around my wrist. I did a couple of tricks and he wanted to learn them.. And so began a three hour session that ended up with about a dozen of his friends learning some basic magic skills, several learned how to juggle three balls, one was mesmerized by a string trick I had done, a cut and restored trick., I later saw him doing it for a friend!! So it wasn’t to be for me to perform for 172 preschoolers. I hung out with a bunch of young men who were very eager to learn my skills.

After a short rest, I go have lunch at my favorite little street place, the food is great, the flies are thick, and a dog waits for my chicken bones, what could be better. I come back to the hotel and get ready to go to the orphanage at 3. As I come out of the hotel I am met by Manno, Vladi, and Seby, who ask if they can accompany me to the orphanage. I welcome their company. On our way there, we pass a group of men sitting and playing some game, I couldn’t see whatl They wanted me to do a show for them but I told them I couldn’t but would come on my way back. When we arrive at the orphanage we are let in and we continue on up the hill to the main building. There is no one there to meet us, and even when we ask for Sister Teresa, there seems to be some confusion. We are told to wait. Soon a rather round sister approaches us, she is Mexican but speaks very good English. She gives me the green light, calls the children together and I’m on my way. There was a team of doctors visiting from the hospital across the road and they watched most of my show too. The children were very happy at the end and I shook everyone’s hand. It was obvious that some had mental disabilities, but they were very playful and charming. When I finished and was packing up I went to thank the sisters, but they had all disappeared, so we simply walked out the gate.

I was hot and thirsty, I had forgotten my water. We were headed back to the hotel and were passing by the men who had called out before. No way they were going to let me walk past. I agreed to do something for them. I intended to give an abbreviated show, but the crowd grew very big, close to 100 and I kept going. It was another winner. Manno had only taken one picture at the orphanage, which was a little disappointing to me. Seby asked if he could shoot the street show and he did a great job.

It was a full day. I decided to walk to the beach to wind down from the day’s excitement. I love walking, observing, and noticing new things. I started to pick up colored pieces of rubble. Not sure what to do with them but they caught me eye. During my walk I actually found the preschool where I was to perform this morning. It is called La PouPonniere Kindergarten.

I decide to just go there tomorrow if it is not raining. As I was relaxing after dinner, someone knocked on my door, it was Fanel, apologizing for not coming this morning. So it is all set for tomorrow, as long as it doesn’t rain.. But I heard someone say today that this rain will last for 5 days. My fingers are crossed.

St Michele drunk

2010-05-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

24 May

After a great breakfast on the street, my favorite, I walk toward the market in search of adventure. The market is bustiling even at this early hour of 6:30. I so love being swallowed up by a culture like this. Total immersion.
I see a man selling lumieres, little oil lamps that he makes out of an old jar, a little tin fashioned around it to form a holder, a hole in the lid where he has soldered a wick holder. He was adding the wicks when I found him, tearing up a t shirt into thin strips and threading them into the holder.
Brilliant stuff.
I get a couple of beautiful mangoes and a piece of rope made out of used plastic sack.
I arrive back at the hotel at 8, just as I am arriving I am stopped by a young man. He wanted to show me something. Out of a black plastic bag he pulls a small woven basket. It is beautiful in its simplicity and form. It is made out of plastic, but I didn’t realize that it was made of recycled plastic bottles. I’ve heard of things made of these, but this is a first time to see something woven.. On the side of the basket is place where he has written his name. I recognized it as the name written on the back of my overalls costume. Lindor Walking!! What a chance meeting. I bought one and encouraged him to keep making them.
Fedony picks me up at 9;30 and we hop onto a moto to go to a school. I love traveling like this, it is cheap, economical and fun! We arrive at a small structure made of two by fours and tarp. The walls are woven palm fronds. Inside it is divided into four squares, each with a sheet of masonite for a blackboard, small bench desks are crowded with the neatly dressed children. The youngest is 5, the oldest maybe 14. There are 45 students in this space no bigger than a one car garage, with four teachers. I am introduced and off we go. One small boy becomes my comic sidekick, very funny and animated about everything I do. At the end they sing for me.
We walk back to the main road to catch another moto. Fedony asks if I want to go to the hotel or to Manoget. I choose the latter, wanting to see my friends there again. It is quite quiet when we arrive, the workers are stopping for lunch, so I join them for a plate of rice and beans. An older boy asks to play my concertina, a child asks for a ball, another wants the diabolo, soon all my things are dancing around the yard accompanied by the efforts on the concertina.; it was quite beautiful to see them all playing with my gear. Sarah had told me that she had talked to someone at the airport about my work, and was told that laughter was one of the 7 steps of survival. I googled it, actually play, but the two go hand in handl And there was a lot of play going on since I had arrived.
I got a ride back to the hotel to rest again. I am finding that a rest in the midday heat makes a lot of sense. I recharge my battery to go out again in the late afternoon.
When I go out, I meet Manno who asks if he can come with me. I always enjoy his company and he has taken some very nice pictures, so we go off together. I wanted to check out the orphanage near the hospital, so it will be good to have Manno along. As we walk along many children recognize me and call out Roget! We stopped at a shop where they were building a coffin. I clarified that it was not for me. They all laughed.
We find the Missionaires de Charite very easily. Their sign is still there and it is directly across from the hospital. Manno speaks with the guard at the gate. It seems that now is not a good time. Come back tomorrow. But next thing I know, we are being ushered in, and up the slight hill to a large building that is still standing. To our right is another that is totally flattened. We meet a nun halfway up the hill. She speaks English and I have a very nice conversation with Sister Teresa. She loves the idea and asks if I can come back tomorrow at 3. Perfect!!
We continue on our wander, not looking for a good spot for a show. There is a group of young girls sitting on a porch. Bingo! I set down my bags. A crowd quickly forms including one very drunk man who insists on singing the whole time. It felt a bit like an opera, everything I did was being sung about it seemed. He had two little girls with him, the younger, maybe 3, was petrified of me. I gave her tons of space. The show grew to 150, probably the biggest street show I’ve had this time. Several motos had stopped, maybe about 10-, the little girl was inching closer. By the end of my show, as I was packing up, she was standing right next to me and I could feel her hand on my back. Another small victory. The druck seemed to be getting a little belligerent when several men had urged him to back off. Manno wanted to leave, so off we went. The drunk followed us, with his two girls in tow. Manno seemed concerned, but I felt ok. He eventually turned back. I felt so sorry for those two litle girls.

Take two

2010-05-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

23 May

I had run into Fedony yesterday and he had asked if I would perform for the childrens’ service tomorrow at Manoget at 8 am. I agree. I was up early to go out for café and banana y zay, my favorite breakfast here; a banana, two hard boiled eggs with a touch of hot sauce. Try it. I also wanted to take all the bags of clothes that we had carried down with me. And the forward edge team had left a few things, including a bag of dirty laundry, nice thought, but a little tacky I felt.

I was downstairs at 7:45 with all my bags, ready to go, by 8:45 I gave up and went upstairs to write. At 9:45 Zangmo showed up, saying that he had forgotten me. When we arrive the church service is in full swing, there’s not a seat available full house, tent that is, A woman offers me her seat. It was fun to see them all in their Sunday best after seeing them working all week.

After the service the children all want to play with my equipment, so I break out all the toys.

A little boy of maybe 6 years does really well with the3 diabolo. I also had brought along a large orange exercise ball that they were really enjoying/ A light rain fell as many colored balls flew in every direction.

One taptap load leaves packed to the gills. When it returns, it’s my turn. I get in thinking I[m going to the hotel, but didn’t realize that I was going to

Feldny[s house for

Sunday dinner. His house is very sijm0ple, concrete block, but it is still standing, and so much better than a tent.

Back at the hotel, I take a rest. The afternoon heat is pretty stifling, and I feel it’s a good time to rest/write. Etc.

I had planned to go out and play but I felt some hesitation. I couldn’t quite pinpoint why, but there was something preventing me from going out. Finally I thought, if I’m going, I need to go now

So out the door I went. As I walked up the street, I heard my name. that’s not getting to be so rare, but what was amazing was that it was Fanel, the man I had talked with in March about performing at his preschool. What a chance meeting, now I see why I had waited, to meet Fanel. He walked with me to the place where I head up the hill to St Helene. I was met there by a group of 5 or 6 boys who had been there yesterday. They were so excite3d to see me again. Fanel took our picture

As we walked u 0p the hill more children spotted me. I had decided not to do it in the same place but to go further into the camp. As I walked u0p the path, I looked and there was about 25 children running toward me3.

What a welcome., they took me to a small covered pavilion where they danced jubilantly over my return. I eventually moved out into the o0en to accomodate3 the large crowd, over 100 strong at the end. It was getting dark by the time I finished..

What a triumphant return. This was the first time I had gone back to the same area the next day, I was stunned by how enthusiastically I was received.

Even Odds

2010-05-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

22 May

We are up and ready to leave the hotel at 5:30 to lget to the airport in PAP. But there is no bus to pick us up! He was to be there at 5:15 so we would leave by 5:30. Zangmo, our taptap driver, arrives at 5:45. We still have gobs of time. The trip should take more than 3 hours and the groups flight leaves at 11:30. We hit horrific traffic coming to Jacmel, so everyone is a little nervous about time. \

We zip along the early morning roads, lots of Saturday markets bustling with activity already at 7 am. We are doing fine unt8il we hear a hissing sound. We have a punctured tire, having skewered te tire with a 3/8” bolt! We all help and are back on the road in less than 15 minutes. Still doing fine for time. And then suddenly, one of the team is sick and about to vomit in the van. We quickly stop and she disappears into a ditch, returning a few minutes later looking a lot less green.

We again encounter the horrible road conditions approaching PAP, huge craters full of water, the only way to judge the depth is to watch the vehicle ahead as they plunge in. We bottom out badly in one and we all hold our breath to get to the other side safely. Fortunately we are following a bus with Maitre de Impossible written over a huge painting of Jesus across the back of the bus, it gives us all faith that we’ll make itl. And make it we did, even stopping along the way to exchange the tire for a good one. I dash out and grab some bananas, eggs, and fried patties for everyone’s breakfast.

We arrive at the a\airport to see huge long lines standing outside the American entrance. The team is flying American. We say our goodbyes and then look for the Delta entrance. Fortunately, the line is much shorter there, Sarah is taken early to the front, in the shade and even some steps to sit on. It is just 9 am, and they won’t start checking people in until 10:25. We say our goodbyes and I leave her in the hands of a nice Canadian couple also on the same flight.

I easily find Zangmo, and we head back to Jacmel. But silly of me, why would he drive back with just me/ We go to a local bus stop and get in line to pack the bus with Haitians Jacmel bound. Otn the trip to PAP Zangmo had been the one Haitian with 10 Americans. Now I was about to be the one American with who knows how many Haitians will fill the bus!! We have to9 wait for a bit, so I hop out and wander around the busy bus stop. There are many of the big buses, all gaily painted, standing in a long row, waiting their turn to be filled and dispatched. And everywhere there are vendors, very portable since they have to keep moving out of the way of the buses. They sell drinks, food, soap, bread, you name it. One woman tries to sell me three cans of condensed milk. What an opportunity, how could I refuse? I juggled them for her. A crowd gathered. A magic trick. They were loving it.; I looked and saw that the bus was full except for the front seat where my bag was, so I wrapped up, grabbed my condensed milk, and hopped in for the ride back to Jacmel.

On top of the mountain there was one UN excavator pushing back the recent mudslide. In the next few kilometers we passed over 100 men working with shovels and wheelbarrows doing the same work. The Haitians have an incredible work ethic. Whoever I watch, whether it is someone preparing food, wielding a shovel, mending shoes, fixing flats, or selling wares, there is an amazing attention to detail, no make that minutae.

took a wander around the market after I had a great lunch of poulay y maiz moulay, Had fun buying some rope from a man, also picked up a couple of mangoes. They are so yummy.

As is my way, I always like to explore new streets, so I picked a new one. I thought I knew where I was, but it seemed that for a little bit I was olost… had a general idea where I was and where I neede to go, but for a while, I was just strolling along, greeting people along the way, and enjoying my walk. Eventually I came out on a road that I had been on back in March, it looked a little3 familiar, and sure enough, it took me back to where I knew where I was. Is that called wanderlost???

After a rest to make up for the early start, I wanted to go out and play at the nearby tent city called St. Helene. I hadn’t barely entered the camp before I had a crowd gathering. Again all ages were present. This was the first time I had gone out totally on my own, Sarah has left, and there was no Haitian accompanying me. I wondered how it would go, it went fantastic. Gain by the end all ages were present, and probably about 100 strong. They love that I play the national anthem for them. Children wanted to know when I would come again. I said maybe tomorrow.

Beach Party, 21 May

2010-05-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

After our morning café run down the street, I had planned to write, but instead of breakfast at the hotel as scheduled, we went up to the church. The kitchen ladies love hearing me say “sa say coupay dwet,” and I love sneaking into the kitchen to see what they are doing. They chastise me for not coming yesterday, they say they had made maize moulay for me.

After breakfast we take a walk into the countryside to see the land where the new church and school will be built. It was a nice change from town life to walk out in nature. It is a beautiful land here in spite of all the deforestation, erosion and litter. Where we were were none of these.

We then walked back and to the school that is nearby. It is called Fils de Lumiere. I remembered it as the vey first school I had performed at in March. But this time I recognized many of the children from the church and was very welcomed by them. I had a great little show, what luck for me to have worn a red shirt, it stood out great against their yellow and green uniforms. They sang along with the national anthem, though not as loudly as I had hoped for.

It was the last day for the Forward Edge and also for Sarah, so they had planned to go to a nearby beach. We waffled on going, but decided it would be a nice thing to do, so we piled into the truck, I think there were 18 of us in the pickup. Raymond Beach is about 30 minutes East of Jacmel along the coast. We passed by the Hands and Feet Orphanage along the way. When we arrived we sat under a pavilion at a long table and set up our base there. Some people swam. Sarah and I had thought that a trip to the beach would not be that different from Antigua, but we were so wrong. The sea was so different, the waves were very confused, floating on my back was like getting a massage in a Jacuzzi. Lunch came, beautifully grilled fish, spicey, nicely blackened, with plaintain. After we ate the rest of them walked down the beach to look for waves to body surf on. I saw some boys playing soccer, so grabbed a diabolo and went to work. They were very playful and loved what I was doing for them. I wandered back up the beach and they followed me, now asking me to do it again for their friends they had gathered. There was also a bus load of white people, who watched out their open bus windows. We played for almost an hour, juggling, ball spinning, and I got a good workout of two diabolos!

When we got back to the hotel, they wanted to go buy some souvenirs, so Caleb took us all to a place he knew. It was up near where I had done a show two months ago. The young men recognized me when I walked up. It was raining as we walked. Crazy blah. All the Haitians watched as we moved up the street. There was a woman holding a little boy, maybe two years old. I offered to hold him as she helped her husband wrap up the purchases. He was very comfortable in my arms. But he grew heavy, so I passed him off to Sarah, next thing I knew, he was sound asleep in her arms.

That evening there was a farewell dinner on the hotel roof for all of the Forward Edge team and Sarah, since she would be leaving tomorrow. I stood in the back as they individually acknowledged each person for their unique talents. Wonderful local crafts were given to each one. Sarah was touted for being a good reporter!! They said that they were sorry, but there was nothing for me; I climbed onto the balcony railing ,threatening to jump, they shrieked in delight and beckoned me back. Since I’m here another week, I’ll get my farewell next week!!

20 May, Day of the Oreos

2010-05-23T05:14:00.000-07:00

20 May

Sarah and I start the day by having a c afe on the street. I love the dark, hot and sweet mixture handed to us in tin cups. We stroll up to the market and pick our way through the labyrinth of sellers, wondering how it all works. There are so many vendors all selling the same products. But it seems to work, they continue to return day after day to set up some very elaborate displays and then hawk their wares all day.

We meet Manno at 11 to go to the orphanage run by some Americans. He has a friend who works there, and he thinks that between his connection and me being an American will be enough to get us in. We hop onto tap taps, the name for the motorbike taxis, and off we go. Sarah is like an oreo, sandwiched between the driver and Manno. I ride on another bike, open faced.

This was our first ride on tap taps this time, and I love the feeling of the warm air rushing past as we weave our way through the traffic. We arrive around 11:30. We go to the gate and are met Manno’s friend, Francine. She introduces us to Michelle, the American woman inside. I give her an abbreviated description of what I would like to do, and she agrees to let me perform, but only for about 20 minutes, she has to eat lunch and have a meeting with the mayor.

She calls the children together and I perform inside a large room with teeny benches for the teeny children. Most are 6 or under. They warm up very fast and their laughter fills the spa ce. I had to shorten my show to keep the time limit. Sarah later told me that soon after I started, Michelle was on her phone calling the other American staff, saying “Get over here, this guy is really good” When my time was up, she gave me a little nod to keep going.

After the show as we were leaving Sarah took my oreo picture, me between Manno and Francine.

Sarah and I take a taptap back by ourselves, whizzing through the busy Jacmel midday traffic.

The schedule for the other group was to come back to the hotel and then go to a couple of tent cities. I was so very excited to go along with them and perform. Turned out that they were delayed by a flat tire, and then by the time they had returned, I had given up and decided to go out on the street. We headed up toward the hospital and I was recognized by a couple of young boys who beckoned me over to them and that was all I needed. Another great time was had by close to 100 people by the end. A man asks Sarah what I was going to give the children. Candy, a toy, a gift? He was surprised that laughter was all they would get.

When we got back to the hotel, the group was there and told of their adventures, they spoke of feeling uncomfortable in the tent cities. I wish I had been there, it would have certainly been a different experience.

We join them to go back to the church for a service and dinner. As we arrive singing fills the air, they sing with such passion and enthusiasm. At the end the group hands out little LED flashlights to the children, it’s like fireflies as they run around with their new toys. The batteries run out quickly for some.
A short lived treat. I'd like to think that my treat lasts a little longer. We have a delicious meal and by the end everyone is exhausted from another full day.

Sidestream

2010-05-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

Another amazing day in Haiti. We went off to the church in the am with the group, work continues on the building. Food continues to be prepared. Children continue to play. It took a bit of doing on my part, but I did arrange to meet Nancy and Lee and Andre at the hotel at 11 to go play on the street. As we were about to leave, a man with a guitar started to play. A few gathered and sang along. Next a boy appeared with two plastic bottles with a few rocks in them to add some percussion. Then a young boy with a glass bottle and a rock, then a teen with a tin can and a stick, finally one of the workers joined in on the cap to a propane tank and a stone. What a beautiful sond they made as we drove away.

We arrived at the hotel just moments before they did. We chatted briefly and I decided to go to the closest tent city, the one just up the hill across the street, next to the funeral home, where I had performed two months ago. It was a time of day when I usually don’t work because of the heat, and I also think there might not be people around, but it was the time we had arranged, so off we went. As we neared the site, I saw four children playing under a tree. I thought, Perfect! That’s enough to start. As I came into view, a middle aged woman saw me, shouted something out, next thing I know, she has brought her chair along and sets it down right in front of me. She had remembered me from before and didn’t want to miss a thing.. And have a good seat to view it all from!!So now there were about 15. A crowd gathered quickly, probably 75 strong by the end. All ages were present, several motorbikes stopped to see the action. An old man stood and joined in. It was a great reappearance for me. I was curious how it would go at a place where I had already been. It couldn’t have gone better. I premiered my concertina. They loved it. And when I started to play the national anthem, by the second phrase they were all singing along. Perfect.

Nancy was very impressed and promised to send me her pictures as well as her son’s. She also had some ideas of how to go other places in the world. Amazing how it all turned out from sitting and drinking a beer yesterday.

Sarah and I went back to the hotel to rest a bit. Caleb and Caleb would meet us at 1;30, so after a short lie down, we headed out to get something to eat. We ended up with a huge plate of maiz moulet, a yummy mixture of ground corn and beans, spiced with pepper. We sat behind a curtain blowing in the wind behind the beautiful plump woman who had so lovingly prepared the food. Very cool.

Caleb was just a little late because he had lent his bike to someone. Not a problem, we were on his schedule. The three of us got on his bike and off we went. It was only a little disconcerting en route when he shout5ed over shoulder that he had never ridden a bike before he came to Haiti. And here he was with both of us on a bike navigating through the potholes, through the traffic and pedestrians. We arrived safely to see 60 kids sitting on benches under a tent patiently awaiting our arrival. As we got off the bike, they broke into a song in Engliish, “We welcome you, we welcome you, we welcome you today.” Sweet or what. We had a brief tour of Caleb’s house, a cinder block structure that was damaged in the quake. They have done some repairs but are still afraid to sleep inside at night. Several tents fill the back yard.

As we came back into the front yard, the children broke into song again. We sat in chairs facing them as Caleb introduced Sarah and I.

I had so much performing for this group. Definitely off the beaten path. I feel that the kids at the church program get so much input from all the groups that visit here almost every week. These kids are definitely off that track. So it felt so good to bring my work to them. They were so responsive and appreciative, and they too joined in loudly for the national anthem.

They sang some more, recited poetry, and gort a lesson from the Haitian Caleb. We then helped serve up their lunch, a healthy plate of rice and beans that they held on their laps patiently until everyone had been served, and grace said.

Another ride on the bike and we're back at the hotel. Sarah and I walk up the street and sit on an elevated porch having a beer, watching the traffic pass by and another day come to a close. Today felt so good to perform at the places off the mainstream. These are the ones that really feel good.

Komeek

2010-05-19T04:48:00.000-07:00

We spent another day at the church. It was Flag Day, so as we arrived all the older children were assembling to go to the beach for the day to celebrate. It was sad to see them all go off. But there was a few younger ones around, so I started to assemble some more juggling sacks with them. They called me "Komeek." At first I didn't get it, but then realized it must be Creole for clown, ala "comique!"

The day passed quickly, the walls growing in the church block by block.

Sarah spent much of the day working in the kitchen, which means sitting around under this beautiful tree cutting, grinding, cleaning and stirring.

After the feeding program was over, I saw a young boy in the early stages of making a kite. I grabbed the camera and was recording this beautiful creation in front of my eyes.

He paid such attention to the details, constantly laying it on the ground then making minute adjustments to the bamboo structure. I gave him a plastic Staples bag that was in my backpack. He adeptly attached it too the frame. It was growing to completion.

I was stunned when he handed it to me and said cadeau, a gift. Tears welled in my eyes. He had no idea how much this meant to me, how much the kite has symbolized so much of the healing spirit of Haiti. Other children came to add a tail and some string. I went and got a large balls of string that I had been giving out to the children earlier to play string games. The kite was soaring away overhead, so beautiful. It was time to go, so I reeled it in. I snapped the string off near the kite and gifted the boy the rest of the spool of blue string.

When we returned to the hotel Sarah and I took a short rest.We had decided to fend for ourselves for dinner and not return to the church with the others. We heard a marching band coming up the street and went out to see what was happening. It was Flag Day in Haiti, and this was part of the celebration. It felt like carnival, tons of people, young students in brightly colored costumes dancing in the street with lots of people looking on. Certainly the biggest crowd of people I have seen so far. We continued on, coming across another band of revelers dancing into the distance. We passed by the market, now closing up for the day. It's amazing the amount of material that gets moved around everyday, either carried, wheeled or put on the back of a motorbike.

We went down to the sea and had a beer from the same place we had before. I love flirting with the waitress. She started it!! While we were there, a couple of white people came in and sat next to us. They were speaking English, so we struck up a conversation. She was a photojournalist traveling with her 19 year old son. She was fascinated with my reason for being in Haiti and wondered if she could come tomorrow and photograph a performance. I take her card. What a chance meeting.

Rain had started to fall as we headed back toward the hotel. It was dark by now and we heard another group dancing toward us. Horns hooted away as they danced into the dark.

We found a very small restaurant for dinner. We were the only people there, occupying one of the three tables. The rain pelted down outside. We ate goat and chicken, both delicious, and listened to the rain and the waitress who stood outside and sang softly to herself. She came in, moved one of the tables and placed a bucket on the floor. Soon the water started dripping from the tarp that formed the ceiling. She had known exactly where to put it!!

We scampered the short distance back to the hotel in the rain that continued to fall. Soon after we got back, we heard another group approaching. From our vantage point on the hotel balcony, it was clearer to see what they were playing. The horns made of tin, some brightly painted, were of several different sizes, ranging from a couple of feet up to almost six. They each would play a different note. They played a very complex melody, ala a bell choir, each instrument playing their note in the right place and rhythm to create a hauntingly beautiful sound. The rain continued to fall as they danced and played away. A young Haitian man called Caleb was on the balcony with us. He said that these people were not celebrating, but protesting. They were from the large tent city that suffers so much when it rains, the water stands a foot deep in some places. So every time it rains, they take to the streets. They were on their way to the mayor's house. I have seen their camp after it rains, they have every right and reason to protest.

Caleb runs a leadership and feeding program with a young American also called Caleb for about 60 kids twice a week. He asks if I could come tomorrow and perform. I accept.

sa say coupay dwet

2010-05-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today we joined the Forward Edge group as they went to work at the church. It was where I had been before and I was curious to see what it would be like to return to a place I had been two months before. We all piled into the back of a pickup truck and trundled off in the morning heat. As we pulled in I heard “Roget” being called out. It was great to be back. The children immediately made juggling motions, took my hat and mimicked it flying off their heads and made the gestures of diabolo.

I took the bag of nearly 300 spoons and forks donated by the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School students to the outdoor kitchen prep area, and showed the pictures I had taken of the 5th grade holding their utensils. It was satisfying to complete that circle.

After having breakfast we started in on helping with the work of the day. They had started the demolition of their church, walls had been knocked down, the columns tumbled and the rebar being hacksawed to make way for the new expanded construction. Even the young boys were wielding hammers and smashing away at the concrete pillars that had toppled. At the same time, there were new tents being erected, lots of hands holding poles as the stakes were driven in by the sole sledge hammer.

There was no school today, for tomorrow is Haitian Flag Day, so there were tons of kids around. I helped with the rope work of securing the tent poles, but as soon as that task was done I wanted to do something for the children. I was surrounded for most of the day. We juggled, I taught several of the boys how to do three balls, we jumped rope, we did rubber band tricks and spun a ball on dozens of fingers. As the day wore on we played and played. They played singing and dancing games, clapping games and one wonderful game that started with a long line going under the bridge formed by two people who would capture someone at a certain point in the song, at which point they would be asked a question, and based on their answer, they would fall in behind one sides of the bridge. This went on until the last person was captured, at which point total bedlam broke out with everyone chasing someone else, tagging, slapping and shrieking the whole time. The wonderful thing was that all of these games were played by all ages, from maybe 5 or 6 to 15 or 16. They were playing so hard, the sweat dripped off of them all.

They took a break; while I had be admiring their play, a little girl came and crawled into my arms. I held her for the longest time, so sweet. She was maybe 3 or 4, but fearless. She started to get a little heavy so I tried putting her down. No way that was going to happen, so I sat down, leaning against one of the recently erected tent poles. I didn’t notice that she had snuggled in and gone to sleep. So I continued doing string tricks, with my free arm as she dozed while my hair was being plaited, until we were called for lunch. That's multitasking!

After our lunch it was time for their feeding program lunch. Plates of rice and beans were carried out and placed on the tables that had been set under the new tents. They all patiently waited for the last one to be served, and grace said before they dug in. They polished off huge plates of food.

After lunch we lolled around, every time I looked around for Sarah she was buried under a pile of children. They had a heyday when she let down her hair. Very styly.

I came up with maybe a brilliant idea. There are hundreds of used water sachets everywhere. And if you fill them up with stones or dirt, they make a pretty good juggling bag. I made a few and gave them away to some boys. Only time will tell if the idea catches on.

We return to the hotel around 4:30. Everyone had had a great day, lots of work was accomplished, and those kids were well loved.

OH, and “sa say coupay dwet” that’s Creole for “that was really delicious.” Literally something about cutting off your finger.

A to A

2010-05-17T05:00:00.001-07:00

After a good rest in the noonday heat, Sarah and I ventured out again to play!! I had spotted a place near some tents during our morning walk, so we headed there first. We wandered through a Sunday market that was starting to close up. Piles of clothes, tables full of meat and chicken, sacks of beans, rice and ground corn. When we got to the spot, there wasn't the activity that I had expected, but I saw two young boys sitting next to a Lotto booth, they beckoned me, hoping for some money probably, and that was enough to start. They had no idea what they had started. There was a crew of three or four that were sweeping and shoveling up rubble from the center of the roundabout. Amazing that four months after the quake, there is still so much to do.

I pulled out my rope to do some tricks, but they quickly identified it as a skipping rope, so we all jumped rope!! What fun it was to play with them. I then pulled out the balls to juggle. They thought they were f0r them, it's hard to not give them away, but they are my tools! I would need to bring hundreds of balls if I were to start giving them away; something to consider. But I don't want to give away something physical. What I give is much more long lasting and valuable, in my eyes at least.

A middle aged woman watched from a distance. I made eye contact with her and she smiled back. She gradually edged closer and closer to the action. It was great to see how engaged she was in taking in all the action.

Sarah and I then wandered further along, back to the beach, where I was recognized from the river showlet and asked for a short encore! I juggled three medium sized rocks to the delight of a group of teens playing soccer.

I saw down a side street a group of people sitting. What attracted me was an old white haired woman. What surprised me was a group of young men sitting together drinking. I also saw in the back lots of paper mache' birds in various states of paint. I was engaged!! One young man spoke a bit of English. It's nice to speak English with them. They have studied it in school, but seemingly have had little opportunity to speak with someone who speaks English. It was a great time shared. Two of them could actually juggle a bit and we had fun stealing from each other. That means while they were juggling I would take the balls away from them and keep juggling. They loved the idea and I easily taught them how to do it. One man said that they drank to help them have fun. Maybe I gave them another way!! They shared their drink with me, it was a very strong liqour, reminding me of the Slivovich that I drank myself when I was about their age while travelling in what was then Yugoslavia. Tasty but lethal!!

While walking back, I recognized a young man who had juggled with me at a tent city show back in March. He recognized me too!!

All in all, a very successful first day. Nothing had been arranged for me, but it was a good test to see that I really don't need something arranged to make it work. Maybe the numbers weren't as high, but the effect may have been greater. Quality, not quantity.

The fact that we had walked all day had given us opportunities that would definitely have been missed if we had a destination we were headed for. Our only destination was to get back to the hotel!! It's A to A, not A to B!

Back to Jac

2010-05-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

This was our first full day on the ground in Haiti..

There is another group here at the Loving Light Hotel, about 8 in the group from all over the US, called Forward Edge. They are here to help for a week. They all got up and went off to a church. Sarah and I were asked if we wanted to go, just as we were headed out for a little foray and we declined. It was a tough decision but I wanted to define my independence, as not always taggling along with them.

It was the right decision. Sarah and I wandered around some of the streets that I knew from my March trip and then wandered into some new territory. I had two great impromptu little shows, eaadch starting with just a hand full of children, but both growing organically as word spread. I could see them running down the street toward me.

The other was for a small group of children playing by the river. A boy had been throwing rocks at the swallows darting over the water and garbage strewn shore. A man gathered cardboard from the refuse and added it to a fire. Soon thick black smoke billowed from his project.

We also had a couple of nice conversations with people on the street;. A young man named Marc was very eloquent about the plight of Haiti and the query of where all the billions of dollars donated to help them has gone. He said there was no one to ask.

Another young man offered to take us to his artist’s shop. There in a building propped up with wood were a half dozen young men painting beautiful placemats, coasters made of fibre board and paper mache bananas and mangoes. The ground was strewn with half painted avocadoes. Another boy trimmed the beautiful bunches of paper mache bananas, looking good enough to eat.

As we walked along through a tented neighborhood a young mentally disabled woman came up to me, wrapping her arms around me. What a wonderful hug we shared to the ljoy of the children that had been following me ala Pied Piper after my mini show. Guess I need to come up with a name for these forays I do, not in performance mode, but definitely having the same effect. I think I just came up with showlet.

Haiti bound

2010-05-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

24 hours ago I was cramming forks, spoons, a tent, soccer jerseys, sundry shoes, art supplies, as well as juggling gear and our personal stuff, (read shirts and shorts) into our 6 allowed bags. Oh , also my son’s old laptop that I snagged in a last minute thought.

Returning is bittersweet. Great to see familiar faces, places, the balck sugar cane, the tire repair shops, the rebar reclamation shops, the wonder4ful faces everywhere.

Yet harder to see how little has been accomplished at first glance. I thought the National Palace had been razed to make way for the new improved version, but her crumbling figure still looms over the palace lawn. The roads oot of Port au Prince were so much worse than I remember them from before. Huge craters filled with rain water challenge every driver to drive through. A pickup loaded with cement bags sits in the middle of one lake, tires spinning, inches of progress as busses, trucks, bikes and vans slalom, past his obstacle. We had to retrace our path at one point for a van had driven into a hole that would not release its latest victim.

And the rubble continues to dominate the landscape. Seeming little has been moved, though I could see some steps have been taken. One thing I noticed is that in several places, the rubble is being taken over by vines and vegetation. That’s one way to make it go away , but hopefully it will not become the new landscape.

Landing at the airport in PAP was quite an adventure. The arrival terminal is a temporary setup in what appeared to be a large metal shed, tin roofed, bare bones. It had two luggage carousels that swirled the mountain of bags of every sort around. Ours made it, no problem. We had carried a tent here for a friend of ours family who is in a tent city called Aviation. His sister was to meet us at the airport As we came out of the terminal with our bags on a cart, there was a throng of people, many holding signs, I scanned them, looking for something familiar but was distracted when we were found by the two young men sent to retrieve us. It was difficult, many were offering their help, but we really only needed one or two. I deputized one as my man, and off we went through the gates into the waiting crowd outside, Thankfully I had a phone number for out tent contact, and she was found quickly. What a happy face when she received the heavy bag, full of the tent plus an assortment of clothes that we had added to bring the bag up to the 50 pound allowance.

Haiti bound

2010-05-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

After an amazing outpouring of love, support and good wishes at the fun(D)raiser we held last Friday, I booked the tickets for Sarah, my wife, and myself. We fly to PAP on 15 May. It will be wonderful to share this deep experience with her and also have her with me to document the continued healing through laughter.

Fun(D) Raiser announced!!

2010-04-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

I'm very proud to announce that there will be a fun(d) raiser to fund my next trip to Haiti, two weeks at the end of May! So many have offered help to make it happen so quickly and smoothly. I continue to get such affirming feedback. Last night at an event on local food production, I spoke with a local clergy about my work in Haiti. After seeing a video clip she was ecstatic and claimed my work to be social change!! Wow.

fund raiser set

2010-04-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Just finalized plans today for a fundraiser to be held in Great Barrington MA at Crissy Farms on 30 April to share with the community my experiences in March and to gather support for my return in May!! Very exciting. Will post the poster here ASAP!

Berkshire Record article

2010-04-10T05:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Berkshire Record for helping to spread the word about my jester relief efforts in Haiti!!!

APRIL FOOLS DAY

2010-04-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

This day has never held much for me. Every day is a fool's day in my world. Very fortunate that a feature article on "Jester Relief in Haiti" is in today's Berkshire Record. Haven't seen it yet but a friend said it was good. Slowly getting through all my pix, learning more about how to publish them on my blog etc.
Thinking about going back to HAITI. My work isn't done there yet.

2010-03-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

video of my work in Haiti

2010-03-31T16:07:00.001-07:00

Dream world

2010-03-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Dream world
it all started when i set my clock for 4:30 on my i touch. After i woke everyone, dressed and
about to leave the room, glanced at my watch and 3:35. My iTouch was still set on Antiguan time. Back to sleep for another hour. Even at 4:30 there were people walking to work. They would check their watches as they walked throughthe light of the hotel. We got on the road to PAP shortly after 5. I had a fully charged camera so was shooting what i could in the slowly growing light. There were so many shots that i missed due to not being adept with his camera. We seemed to be in a hurry as we raced through the dawn hours. I hoped we would atop somewhere for dejeuner y café, my last i. Haiti. But as it turned out, that would not happen. I thought we had plenty of time to get there but we raced on. We were out of the
mountains and approaching the outskirts when disaster struck.
I had grown used to the horn blowing to warn our approach, but something was different. I glanced out the front just in time to see the small form move into our path, hear the brakes scream and the horrible sound of the impact as we slammed into the small girl. The next moments were an eternity. Had we killed her? Wailing voices converged from across the field and the nearby shelters. Were we in sudden danger of reprisal? The driver and LaFleur were out of the van and before I had any answers to my questions, the door slid open and her limp body was passed in to my arms. Was I about to experience a death in my arms? We grabbed two of the gathering crowd, slammed the door, and sped away, back in the direction we had just come. She was breathing, and I could see that her left arm was broken and probably her left leg. As I cradled her upper body in my arms, a miracle happened. Her eyes opened. And she spoke. She tried to sit up but between the new woman and myself we kept her fairly calm and quiet. The pain was starting to set it and her shrieks filled the van. I maintained eye contact with her even though our eyes were upside down to each other. I stroked her face and reassured that she was ok and we were taking her to a hospital The minutes dragged on but we soon came to a Medicin San Frontieres facility. It took a couple of tries to find the right entrance in their compound, but soon a stretcher was coming toward us.
Her name is Lachelle, she is 11 years old. Throughout her examination and diagnosis I massaged her neck and held her hand. Even when her father arrived she would not release her grip. I blew on her face and she requested "Encore". A orthopedist from Montreal came and found nothing else broken, a few abrasions, but nothing serious. She will survive.
She wore a t shirt that bore "THIS LITTLE GIRL TAKES NO BULL!"
I can attest to that, she is one brave young woman, being hit by a full van, sustaining multiple fractures, yet maintained calm and focussed control through it all.
I later found out that she had talked about a dream she had last night, about being chased by someone with a machete trying to chop her. Her father is a driver and had just dropped her off. She had never crossed the road by herself before it being a very busy road where they drive very fast. Also that in that community they have killed a driver who had killed a child and burned his van. Bigger miracle than i realized.
So what did I learn? All week I've been thinking that it's the journey not the destination. If I had demanded a food stop, Lachelle and I never would have met.
We missed the bus at the main station in PAP but got to the second station in what seemed like masses of time. Slow down and enjoy the trip.
Sadly we motor out of Haiti and into the Dominican Republic and
toward Santo Domingo. Between the tinted glass and the curtained windows, there was little to see, as if one was wearing blinders. It reminded me of how the world views Haiti, very different from the experience that i have just been privileged to have.
In a bizarre turn of events they show "Avatar". Talk about dream worlds and miracles.
The trip takes seemingly forever, it is dark when we arrive.
After checking into the Bella Vista again, we wAlk a short way to a relative of LaFleur's for a simple dinner. We dined in a small garden under the banana plants and the stars. The unfortunate part was that LaFleur was on his computer the entire time. I commented on how today's society is being disconnected from civility by its obsession with technology. The gadget takes precedence over those living breathing people nearby. The eyes are diverted toward the flat two dimensional screen. He was so plugged in he didn't even comment.
A small portable washing machine washed our Friends of Haiti shirts for our triumphant return to Antigua tomorrow
We walk back to the hotel through a small barrio, such a different world from the one we left just several hours ago.

Gonaives

2010-03-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

After a full 12 hours of sleep I feel much better
My batteries are recharged, maybe not fully but certainly back on course.
I am really missing the use of my camera. I see so many images to capture.
We went back to the water house for breakfast of Haitian spaghetti. I wandered to the front of the compound where a couple of people were busy making paper chains and flowers from tissue paper. I sat and helped. I did a little juggling as well. Then we traded string tricks. I learned a new one! I realized that the others had left without me. It was a very relaxing social time.
We visited several of the houses that FOH has helped to build since the hurricane in 2004. After seeing the house I would steal away, find the children and engage them in some play. Thw two or three would then blossom into between 10-30 as the balls were flying.
I lost track of how many places we went to, but it was quite a few. At one there was a large group of children chasing after the van as we left. They were riding on the back and the driver stopped to chase them off. They scampered away squealing with delight.
It was a great way to spend a Sunday , visiting family
Went to many houses. after survey I would fi d the children grow from 2-25.
When we returned to the water house we were beckoned to a second floor room filled with several families. It was a party for LaFleur and us. A feast awaited us complete with a decanter of a punche Cuba type drink. We sat at a table to eat as the rest of the party filled their plates and sat outside on the porch. Very sweet. The yards of paper chain hung on the cement block walls.

Run down

2010-03-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

I woke at 5 and decided to make the most of my time before our 8:30 departure. I had a wonderful hot cup of sweet coffee on the street. Trevor had loaned me his camera so I was able to get a few shots at the beach. I then found the main marche and wandered through the crowded aisles, there is certainly no lack of food, simply mountains of mango, grapefruit, onion, beet, cress, carrot, and meat.
We finally got on the road at 9:30. The drive back to PAP was fine. Saturday seems to be market day and we passed through so many. Oh how I wanted to stop and explore a bit. I do love the market.
As we neared PAP we started seeing gangs of workers,all clad in blue t shirts, cleaning the sides of the road. They were everywhere , numbering in the hundreds easily. I would much rather see that than the hordes of Digicel marketers roaming the streets with their huge wireless top up phones.
In PAP we went to a tent city that has over 17000 people. I did a little show under a large tree for a very appreciative crowd. They loved it when I balanced a naked Barbie doll on my nose that a young girl was carrying. I felt so inadequate though, I had been able to touch so few out of so many. Yet the midday heat was stifling even in the shade if the tree. The show ended abruptly when a huge dump truck backed toward us with yet another load of rubble. People were using it to raise the level of their "floors" in view of the coming rainy season.
Back on the road, we then drove for three long hours over very poor roads. At one point along the coast we zipped along on a newly paved highway made by the Brazilians. Otherwise it was very rough going. We only stopped once for a pee break. We passed through a low valley with rice fields that went on for miles, stretching off into the distance.
By the time we arrived in Gonavies I felt I had been beaten up. We ate when arrived at a friends house. We got to the hotel around 5:30. Iwas exhausted and not feeling well, so I went to bed around 6pm! I needed some recharging.

Rain acom

2010-03-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

It rained all night. As day broke the skies still were dumping lots of water. Normally this would be a good thing but anyone who's ever been camping knows, rain isn't friendly.
I was to meet Leme to go to a preschool with 175 children, so I was ready at 8. My costume had gotten a prolonged rinse over night up on the roof, so I dcided to bring in the second costume I had brought. My idea of having people autograph my costume has been working well. My plan for this one is pictues. He never showed up, I later found out that school had been cancelled due to the rain.
While waiting for Leme I saw some students from one of the schools I had performed at across the street. They wavedto me so I crossed over to visit. We exchanged string tricks. A little boy who lives across the street sat in my lap as we played. They asked if I could show them diabolo so I escorted them over to my side of the street so we could have more room in the empty lot next door. By the end several others had gathered and tried their hand at it. Manno did very well. I then taught Carlton and his brother Roodli how to juggle. When I came home later in the afternoon they were still practising in their yard which I can see from the balcony. It felt like I had a small juggling school!
The rain was off and on most of the day. We went to a site of a new school where the workers were taking a break. I did a few tricks for them, very playful. We also visited another scoop site where simple wooden structures served as classrooms.
We went back to the Venezuelan tent camp and it looked like Woodstock withoutthe music. The mud was everywhere, it was shocking how bad it was. We stayed in the back of the truck and dove where we could without getting stuck. I did a little show using the bed of the truck as a stage. A young adult came over after I had finished. I was down off the truck now. He had three rocks. And he could juggle them. As we got back in the truck to leave, I pulled out 3of my balls and gifted them to him. It felt great to do.
We. Then went to another camp. Another very fun show. And another camp, this one on the plaza by the destroyed city hall. More good stuff. Unfortunately I had givenLaFleur my camera to take some shots. His phone rang and in the shuffle it got dropped onto the stone Terrace. Done dead. Luckily Trevor is loaning me his so I can keep shooting.
Found out after we got back to the hotel that we aeleaving for PAP to
orrow am at 8:30. I'm not ready toeave yet. I walled downtown the beach to see it before we leave. Wished I had my camera, trevor's bTteryis dead.

The other extreme

2010-03-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

The scene at the hospital was grim. Dozens of people waiting to be called by the overworked staff of Medicin Sans Frontier. Tarps form thw waiting room, all ages sit and wait. I played for them for 20+ minutes in the midday heat. Slowly they opened up and soon smiles replaced their downturned faces. Young, old, man, woman, child all escaped their grim reality for a few precious mu
minutes I was priveledged to share with them. One young boy in particular was very playful.
We took a tour of the facilities, the major part of the hosptal is flattened. Tent after tent is filled with beds crowded together. Families of thepatients sit anywhere they can find. One young boy sits in a wheelchair. His face brightens when I approach him, juggling balls in hand. He Beams as the balls take flight and onelands in his lap. He tosses it back and the game is on. Soon his older sister joins the action. The whole family as well as others nearby are swept away for a brief spell. Difficult surroundings but a place that certainly needed some light.
The hospital sits on a cliff overlooking a wide riverbed teeming with bodies. Washing clothes, bodies and
motorbikes the surrounding banks are covered in patchworks of drying clothes or smouldering rubbish. Beautiful and distressing simultaneously. Seems to be the theme of the day. We bike back for lunch.
Gigi was to meet me between 3:30 + 4. I was ready and waiting for my afternoon foray
he hadn't appeared by 4:15 and I was itching to go so I decided to really go solo today. I wandered up in the directionof the tents to the East. At the topof the hill I ran into a funeral just coming out of the funeraire. The hearse wouldn't start at first then slowly came to life. There was a band of uniformed musicians who marched away down the hill I had just climbed followed bt the hearse and a large contingent of mourners dressed In black.
The tent village that I was headed for was in view of allthis, but I figured a funeral was nothing new here. A young boy on a bike sang along with the band as they faded away.
Blanc. I was being called. A young girl started the conversation asking what I was doing. I stated my intention to do a spectac. The place Wa
was decided upon , near the tents on a litter strewn rocky path. Well we had fun, all ages complete with a sharp tongued young male who
challenged everything I did. The crowd was on my side and chastised him heartily for his brashness. I was vey surprised when a young man came out of the crowd, asked for my balls, and not only could he juggle
but he knew several tricks. Very cool. At the end I took a couple of pictures, one of the little boy that I gave the pinwheel I handmade for him
out of strapping tape. As I was about to leave a fellow did a wonderful mock performance with a bowl and a stick. He didn't really do anything but he was very funny. We all laughed together. I was full of smiles as I walked down the hill toward home.
y side and they playfully reprimanded him for his attacks. I lve to hear them whooping in joy and amazement at my antics. They love when I dance in c

Both xtremes

2010-03-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Today started in a fun way
Usually I wake early but this am at 5:30 I was woken by voices singing. From the rooftop of the hotel I can see tents in every direction I look. Some are large communities like the one fin by Venezuela while others are just a few in the street. So many are pitched on pavement. Anyways the singing seemed to come from one of the larger groups.
I took my backpack,which I now perform out of up onto the roof to organize and repack. I love the morning watching jacmel once again return to its busy pace. I watch the woman across the street set up her little stand, complete with charcoal fire upon which she fries a wonderful dough filled with a mixture of veg and sauce, just a little spicy.
I was about to go on my am wander when I saw Alcina and Trevor, the team from ABS TV, who said they going out to shoot a intro for their latest piece. I thought it woulg be fun to go with them, I thought just across the street but Trevor said he wanted to go up the hill to a nearby tent site. When we arrived a man was sitting on a porch of a heavily damaged playing a guitar, such a nice sound to hear. Alciana bemoaned the fact that there so few kids around, but they are all in school. A few women sat under a tent canopy doing laundry. 5 tiny children were with them. Of the three of us, I am the only one who speaks any French, I'm getting bolder about jumping into conversation. She wanted to hold a child while doing her intro. I did't arrange one, I got three, so many she had to sit on a little rickety chair they lent her. It turned out great.
I was being taken to a school for their morning break somewhere near the port. I was ready to go so went outside the hotel to wait. There were a few young men sitting on a totalled car that sits half off the road, waiting to be removed at some future date. I went over and chatted with them. They wanted a trick so I did some sleight of hand with a coin and a little juggling. Very playful. A man joined and said thar he could arrange for me to go to the scoop that is just down he road. I see the children arriving inthe am in their clean dark blue uniforms. Next thing I know is that we abandoned plan A and within about ten minutes I have an audience of 175 children from 6-15 yrs. This was the first indoors performance I've done here and the laughter and clapping was like thunder and rain. Vendors and passerbys crowds the doorways to catch a glimpse of the fun.
From there we walked up the hill toward the river to the hospital.

Going solo with Manno

2010-03-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

This afternoon after waiting for someone to take me somewhere, (that's the way it has been set up so far,) it was getting late and also close to my favorite time to perform, the end of the day. Work is done and most people seem to have been at it since daybreak, so much clearng of rubble, all by hand. Today I saw a group of men demolishing what was left of a building, with sledge hammers and crow bar, busting the cement from the twisted rebar while next door they were mixing cement using only the primary tool, a shovel.
I decided to go out on my own to see what would transpire. As I left the hotel I ran into Manno, a 20 yr old Haitian who can speak a little English. He asked if he could come along , I just got my camera man!
We wandered up a street I had discovered on Google Earth! Sure enough, they were tents that I had seen lots of red blips along the street amazing that you can see that. We heard children singing, and discovered a Save The Children tent full of kids. Manno explained who I was and that I wanted to perform for them. They reluctantly agreed saying I could do 5 minutesbut no pictures. Not a problem. The 5 kept getting e tended for another 5,then another and another. By the end not only were the children well served but also the crowd that had gathered outside.
As we walked down the tent lined street I was recognized by a young boy from the school this am!
I had broken my diabolo string so had stopped at an intersection to fashion a repair. I felt eyes on my back and about 50 feet away a group of about 15 young adult men were chilling on some steps. I felt they were ripe for picking so I visually started playing with them. They took the bait, playfully taunting me. I started with some diabolo and from there on the crowd grew to 75 by the end.
On our way back home a little girl about 6, called out "Blanc" to me, I replied "noir" to her. She came to me took me by the hand and led me down the street, just giggling joyfully away. We rounded the corner to where her family was, also group of men, an old woman cooking, and they broke into laughter to see their little "noir" with this large "blanc" in tow. What a dear child.
I stopped at a little shop and picked the bottle of real Haitian hot sauce , custom made for me because every time I had asked for hot sauce,
I was handed a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce, straight from New Orleans!

Red checks

2010-03-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

This am I was taken to a school that is right across the street from the Loving Light hotel. We walked there in less than 5 minutes.
I have watched the children come to school every am and had no idea that I would be able to perform there. They were already on their am break when I arrived so after checking in with the direccion it was showtime!!
I wasin the shade of a tree and the red checkered shirts of their school unifoms surrounded me
I had been escorted there by a young man named Reginald but he said I could call him Gigi. I liked that a lot.
He gladly took my camera and shot a lot. So much he ran out of battery!
I guess I will have to wait until I return to ANU next week to edit and post some.
After lunch I was standing out on the hotel balcony watching the nonstop parade of traffic. That will have to be apost of it's own so constant, varied, and always some surprise.
Anyways the school was letting out for lunch? Or done for the day, whichever some young boys from this am's show spotted me, suddenly there were lots of children raving to me, what a warm feeling!
I wandered the streets of Jacamel after lunch and when I stppoed to buy a cold drink, an energy drink called Ragaman, a little boy of 9 yes moved his arms in a juggling fashion! I am touching this town, one child at a time!

Tent camps 1&2

2010-03-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

This afternoon around 4 we headed out by bike again, this time to a tent camp, actually moreike a small city
this one was set up by the Venezuelans. They have been here for two months, so there is a real community feel. Food was being cooked everywhere, also many street food stands lined the "street" where we entered.
Children were everywhere, skipping rope, rolling hoops and plastic lids, a soccer game went on in the distance. I set down my bag and started to work, first spinning my hat on a stick. The crowd grew quickly, not only children, thoughthere were lots, but all ages were there to see what was going on. They loved everything I did. At one point I had them all jumping up and down. They were all laughing and cheering so joyously that I don't think they saw the tears in my eyes. I can hardly believe that I am here doing what I've dreamed of for so long
when I finished they sorrounded me I touched as many as I could,
Free hugs!
The 2nd camp was more of the same, great to see the skepticism morph into smiles and laughter.
Walked home through streets crowded with vendors. And still everywhere there are budings in every state of collapse

School #2

2010-03-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

This am we went by bike
to a school where we were met by a sea of blue uniformed children out in the yard for their am break
They were so lovely warm and friendly
I was addressed as "blanc" a creole version of "white Man". Not derisive, just very descriptive!
It was just LaFleur and I, the others had stayed back, claiming fatigue, and only on day two! They missed a greatexperience
at the end I started shaking hands and both arms were covered by their hands, very touching
I then had a very short break before the other half of the school came out, another happy couple hundred of smiling faces
fortunately the abs tv team travelling with us caught up with us for this one and even did a short interview. Next stop was a pre school a out 15 wee tots, downshifted big time and even so two Tony ones were on tears, fine once the teacher held them they sang several lovely songs complete with actions at the performance
Calls of "au revoir blanc" echoed as we walked away up the dusty hill. now on a midday break, good to be out of the blistering sun now
had to walk all the back to the Loving Light Hotel in the hot sun carrying all my gear, time to repack now that I've got a couple under my belt
, knowing better what to expect
working on getting some pictures, think there were some good ones today

Roger blanc

Jacmel

2010-03-15T15:35:00.001-07:00

We jumped onto motorbike taxis and manuevered the less than ideal roads littered with the rocks and rubble fro
buildings being cleared, often by bare hands and shovels , I have yet to see a backhoe or excavator.
We arrived safely, then walked a bit to a school where I got to perform under a tree during their am break. They were so receptive And responsive.
After a midday rest we returned to the same community by bike again to see the afternoon food program
this time it was the whole community babies to adults. I had a great time teaching some diabolo to a couple of older boys. The younger boys were flying kites overhead so sweet
greAt work here

2010-03-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Arrived safely in Jacmel
Stunned by the extent of destruction
Yet amazed by the resilience and creativity of the Haitian people
Had a great encounter in Port Au Prince with a young boy of 10 or so begging for $ for food
He put on such a sorrowful face
I mirrored him, asking of him the same
His face broke into a HUGE smile
Today was very long, 9 hours from Santo Domingo, DR by two different buses, but I can hardly wait for tomorrow to really hit the ground
Travelling with two young reporters from ABS TV in Antigua, so we are teched out to the max. I even have the spare laptop to use, so there should be daily updates!

Laughter

2010-03-13T00:49:00.000-08:00

Laugher is an external expression of joy. Laugh, yourself, heartily, and you will fell better. Make your friend laugh, and you will make him happier. Make your enemy laugh, and he will hate you less. Make a stranger laugh, and you will give him more confidence. Make the sorrowful laugh, and you will lessen their grief. Make the desponding laugh, and you will raise their hopes. Make the old laugh, and you will make them feel younger. Make the child laugh, and you will make it better tempered, more healthy, more happy and more loving.

2010-03-12T04:09:00.000-08:00

Restore Haiti

2010-03-12T04:02:00.000-08:00

I am leaving in 24 hours on a 12 day mission of laughter to Haiti!! Very excited about this dream I've had for so long actually about to come true. Food, water, shelter, medicine are all rushed in to care for the physical body of those suffering. Now I am going to care for their spirit and soul!! Going through the auspices of Restore, a Methodist group working in the schools of Haiti before the earthquake brought Haiti to the top of the list. Met a man in Antigua that has been very helpful in arranging this to come to pass. Will try to post from HAITI but no idea what the internet availability will be when I get there. Stay tuned!!!

2006-11-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

Self portrait

2006-11-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hello