good talk

11 Years Ago I Was in Manhattan and I Went to the New York Stock Exchange and Stood in the Gallery. While There I Met a Young Fellow Named Rick Muniz who said that he was from Brazil, was half Italian and half Spanish, and that he now Lived in New York which he Loved and Worked as a Tour Guide. Rick Offered to Walk with me to the Twin Towers as He had some Time on his Hands and I Agreed Never Having Been There. Rick was a Heck of a Nice Guy, he didn't want any Money, he wasn't...., Just a Friendly guy. After He Showed Me the Twin Towers I Bought Us Lunch at McDonalds and he thought that was Great. He Said What the Foreign Tourists Like to do is Go to Harlem on Sunday Mornings to the Black Churches and See the Choirs in their Colorful Garb Swaying Back and Forth Singing. Good thing to do, They hear the Word and Drop a Ten in the Plate, Everybody Benefits. I Always Remember People who do Something for Me, If you See Rick Tell Him that I Thought of Him. A Friend of Mine Asked me about going to Belize with her Boyfriend, now a Mercenary in Afghanistan, for 5 Days. That Was a Perfect Destination When I Was There 14 years Ago but I Wouldn't Know About Know about Now. I Went Through Mexico, Guatamala, Honduras and Nicaraugua on the Bus Just as Central America was Coming Out of Civil War and it was Relatively Safe but Now with all these Gang Members from the U.S. being Repatriated It would be Very Dangerous. Panama where I'd been has always been Extremely Dangerous, I've been in Costa Rica and that was Very Safe 20 Years, I don't Know about now. Belize City was Regarded as Dangerous 14 Years Ago but I never had any Problem and was there only Briefly. From There to Caye Caulker was 21 Miles by Boat and There I Caught 6 Barracudas, 5 Yellow-Tailed Snappers and 1 Spanish Mackerel in three and a half hours, One of the Greatest Displays of Sustained Fishing Ever Witnessed. But What I Sought Eluded Me, the King Fish, the King Mackerel. That Night I Went to the House of My Pilot-Guide with a Bottle of Rum, Somebody had Cooked one of the barracudas and one of the Snappers to Perfection and Everyone had a Real Good Time. Then 11 Miles to Caye Ambergris (pronounced Key, an island) where I Snorkled the Barrier Reef, the 2nd largest Reef in the World next to the Great Barrier Reef. I Had a Great Time in Belize and Hopefully it's as Good today. From Belize City I took the Bus to Tikal in Guatalmala, a Great Mayan City. In my tourist guide it Says ".....When You See the Temple of the Jaguar Rising Out of the Jungle it Goes All the Way to Your Gut," yeah it does. On this Trip I was also in Chichen Itza in the Mexican Yucatan and Copan in Honduras also Great Mayan Cities. All of the Kings in Copan had Cool Names, the Greatest of Them being "Smoke Jaguar." From Tikal I took the bus and Stayed in a border town for the Night, I Stayed in their Best Hotel which was Greatly Overpriced at $6 a Night. They Gave me a big lock to put on my Door, I went Downstairs to the adjoining Cantina to get some ice. The Cantina had a Shower Curtain which served as a Door and Once Inside Everybody Crowded around Me in Curiosity. They Weren't Threatening at all but I Could Tell that These were Very Rough Men. I Spoke with them Briefly and Left. The Next Morning when I Took a taxi to the Border to recross into Belize the Driver Told Me that Somebody had been found that Morning Stabbed Many Times and Laying about a Block away from the Cantina. The Driver had known him and Said that The Night Before he had Seen Him Standing outside that Cantina and that he was Drunk. He Said that this Guy didn't want to Work and just wanted to be a Bandido and that he was "20" and that was all the Longer one Lived in Guatamala if he Went that Way. A couple of Times I Remarked that he didn't Seem Very Upset about this Guy's Passing. Honesty is the Best Policy.