dining with the gods

Wherever I have lived, weather has been a guest at the table.  Calling for attention in one guise or other.


In Oregon, most of the year, it was like a nagging child.  There, but easy to ignore.  The same with Texas, Colorado, California, Greece, and England.  A subtle presence.


Summer weather in Melaque is not subtle.  The fact that the local Indians gave the fiercest characteristics to their weather gods is no coincidence.  Weather here sits in your parlor on a pile of skulls while eating the neighbor children for sport.  Moloch is a shirker in comparison.


I need to remind myself from time to time that I did not move to Mexico for the weather.  And this is one of those times.  If I was that concerned about weather, I would be sitting in my Salem hot tub right now.


But I merely have to tolerate the weather here.  The one relief we have from the pizza oven heat is its dancing partner – rain.  Rain and heat tend to waltz through the summer – like Fred and Ginger, performing well and complementing each other’s steps.


Unfortunately, only half of the dance act has shown up.  And in a guise that smacks more of summer than late spring.


As it turns out, I was happy to have a few more days rain-free.  At least, until I could accomplish one chore.

 

I told you about our church fire last April (one plate of mustard seeds at table five).  The board decided to build a new palapa on a lot closer to the main highway.


The building will not start until later in the year.  But there were some things that could be done before the rains set in.  Cleaning debris.  Cutting brush.  Leveling the lot.  And purchasing local bricks for the floor of the palapa.


The bricks raised the rain question.  They are made of local clay.  And even though they will be subjected to rain after they are in place, while they are stacked, they run the risk of growing mold during the rainy season if they are left uncovered.  If they get moldy, they will not properly set in mortar.


We all see the solution.  Cover the bricks.


On Monday, our summer pastor and I grabbed two tarps and managed to wrangle them into position.  I tried tarping the bricks on my own during the prior week, but the job really did require two people to do it right.  Once again, proving Solomon's wisdom in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10:

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.

Fortunately, we did not have to worry about the falling down part.

I will keep you posted as the building project begins.  The palapa should make a perfect place to worship.  Somewhere away from those nasty local weather gods.


But I am now ready for the rain.  Bring it on.