INDAYELA
This is the name of a concoction made of tea, milk, breath mint-type candies, and methylated alcohol. Yes, methylated alcohol. Depending on who you ask, it is consumed by people to keep them awake for long periods or to give them the ability to look into the future. I suspect that if I were to ask more people about it, I would learn of more uses for and powers ascribed to this drink. Of course, methylated alcohol (or methylated spirits, as it is called here) is acutely poisonous. Tragically, 7 members of a family in this area consumed some of it last Saturday, and 4 of them have died. One of Rudy's form 3 students partook of the toxic drink and was hospitalized, but he was back in school on Friday the 5th. What do you say to the boy? I said I was glad to see him back; I could think of nothing more eloquent.

I've talked with Ruth about this issue this week. For me, I look around at this area and I see 1) agricultural opportunities, 2) the opportunity to "have a place of your own" (a homestead), be it ever so humble, 3) adequate rain and water for washing, cooking, growing food, 4) immeasurable opportunities for long walks to waterfalls, high hills, and vistas of sunrises/sunsets, etc., 5) a peace and quiet unavailable in the cities, and 6) a considerably lower cost of living. I am puzzled, then, as to why young people would instead turn to a toxic coctail which they have been told is dangerous in search of some sort of short-term thrills and "future knowledge". Then again, perhaps I could wonder why upper-middle-class pre-teens, teens, and 20-somethings in the US squander their lives, character, souls, and money on various distractions (alcohol, drugs, sex, driving too fast) when they have a vast range of positive and healthy options before them. I am grateful for the upbringing my parents gave me, wherein they steered me away from those destructive activities and into healthy ones, particularly soccer, which gave me lifelong habits of planning, determination, committment, and effort. I have certainly not made all the right choices in life and have made some absolute loser decisions, but parental guidance and (again, mostly) soccer spared me lots of the worst pitfalls young people can fall into. My heart breaks for these kids who come close to, and sometimes succeed in, throwing their lives away. There will be a funeral for 4 siblings, most of them under 30 years of age, this weekend. The teachers and students were asked for financial contributions today to defray the expenses. If you would, please pray for this family (mostly Gama) in a devastating time.

END GAME
Most of the final peaches are very close to harvesting; they look and smell beautiful. Ruth sprayed them with worm killer on Tuesday, and they cannot be safely consumed until next Tuesday. We usually go to church together on Sundays, but various students have whispered to Rudy "I am asking for peaches"; others have accused him of selfishness, saying "I only want four". Having the whole family away all day on a Sunday was, in Rudy's mind, too much temptation for young people with lots of time on their hands and growing bodies. On Friday afternoon we decided Ruth would stay home all day Sunday and Rudy would take the girls to church, to provide "proximity deterrence". Rudy also cut up two big bunches of lantana plant and put them inside the fence, just where would-be peach thieves would land if they jumped over the corner. Lantana has little barbs which catch easily on clothes and give painful, but not deep, scrapes. We will harvest Monday afternoon, and will bid the "peach defense" season goodbye. Ruth plans to sell most of the peaches to the women who sell at the school market and let them mark them up and resell them to the students.

Hope you have a good day,
Rudy for the gang