Rain and Coffee

 

Hello John,

It's absolutely pouring rain this morning.  Not just any rain.  The lord is emptying the bucket right on Calbayog City.  It's pouring.  And surprisingly cold.

Nice weather for a cup of coffee.

I'm sitting here in my little office drinking my morning cup of Joe and enjoying the sound of rain on the tin roof and Delroy Wilson's Super Mix.  Love that record.

"Oh Donna, Donna I love you.  Donna, I need you.  Please say you'll be mine.  Oh Donna, I'll never be untrue."

What a life.

My son wants pancakes.  I told him first let me write this letter.

Last weekend we took a trip to the big city of Tacloban.  Tacloban is a four hour drive south from Calbayog City.  The drive is breathtaking.  Coconut jungles with little villages.  Emerald seas with islands in the distance.  And windy roads.  We hired a van with a driver for the trip.  He loved playing loud music and blasting his horn while he passed trucks on blind turns.  He let me ride shotgun so I had a ring side seat for the excitement.

Tacloban was fun.  It's actually pretty much a city.  When we got there everyone wanted to go to the McDonalds.  There was about fifteen of us with cousins and aunts and uncles and everyone wanted burgers and fries.  I thought fuck that and went off by myself to wander around the city and look at things.  The streets of Filipino cities are crazy.  Filled with tricycles and hordes of people.  Crowded little shops selling everything.  And beautiful women.  Not gonna lie.

I eyed all the street food and landed on a stand selling grilled somethings on a stick.  Yummie.  Hahahaha.

I finished a stick and decided to polish it off with a nice piece of warm banana loaf from the bakery next door.

I asked the young woman behind the counter how much for a piece of the load and she said, "10 pesos."

"10 pesos!!," I exclaimed and then smiled.

10 pesos is about 15 cents.

She laughed and gave me the loaf.

The only problem with Filipino cuisine is they don't understand coffee.  I looked around for a cup of coffee to have with my loaf but none could be found.

So I went back to the McDonalds.  They have coffee for sure.  Some things about American culture are still great.

"This is the last train to Africa my friends.  The last train.  Jump right on.  Let's go have a ball.  I said to jump right on.  Cuz there is fun for all."

Time for pancakes.

Calbayog City  2022

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