Neto

Next door to the Albrook Inn is a statue of Paul Bunyon in a shriners hat. The only other one of these fiberglass statues I've seen was in Northern California in the redwoods. They were manufactured in the hundreds as the Muffler Man during the 60's. The one in Panama stands directly in front of a building that housed the old officers club at Albrook Airforce Base, now the Abou Saad Shrine, edificio 13.

The couti mundi looks like a small raccoon with a narrow snout and long striped tail. It feeds off the scraps from the restaurant at the Albrook Inn. The agouti is there nearby but preferring to remain hidden. It's ugly and looks like a small capybara, the worlds largest rodent.

I left the Albrook Inn to catch a plane that would never leave the ground that day. There were exactly 12 of us waiting in a room all morning long. We exchanged stares, than smiles, and laughed at the big screen playing Starsky and Hutch. At noon we were called to the counter and given lunch money because the delay would take us into the afternoon. At 3:30 p.m. they cancelled the flight to Sambu.

I had it easy, but an old man with his granddaughter and one plastic bag was upset and had nowhere to go. He was invited to another house. We were all in the same boat. Next day we exchanged greetings as we met for the 11:00 a.m. scheduled flight. At that time I struck up a friendship with Neto who was traveling with his mother to Sambu in the Darien.

We talked and I asked him questions about school and sports. Then I realized he was a wealth of information about life in Sambu. I had a plastic brochure with pictures of animals in Panama. It listed mammals, reptiles, insects, and birds. We went through each animal and I marked the one's that he had seen. He pointed to Sambu on a map behind glass at the souvenir shop.

Neto walked with the assistance of his mother, hesitantly taking steps, like his equilibrium was out of whack. It wasn't epilepsy. I thought of a brain tumor. I found out that my hunch was correct.

His mom called him aside while I sat studying my books. He didn't come around me and looked out the window. He wouldn't look at me and remained quiet. I liked his friendship and I also wanted to finish our project. I turned and asked his mom if it was ok if I talked to Neto. She said yes and we continued our discussion. He sat across from me during the flight.

When we disembarked, I saw Net in the arms of friends walking away. I went up to his mother and said to say thank you to Neto for talking to me. Days went by.

Late morning Monday, Michael, Lupe and I went to the docks to go fishing. I was just going to watch. The aluminum dock was built by the government but far outside of town in the middle of nowhere. Lupe and Michael were ahead and I lingered back abit just enjoying the jungle that was beginning to enclose us. I saw a couple behind me but didn't pay any attention. Then I heard my name called. It was Neto and his mother Misities. We hugged and she gave me the most fantastic woven basket I had seen since being in Sambu.

The Embera have become expert basket weavers. They use a needle from the chunga (black palm) to sew strands taken from the jagua and nahuaha trees. The baskets and plates are firm and can't be bent. The basket that Misities gave me had a like with a latch and long string for holding. It was a work of art that clearly would have cost me thirty dollars to buy in the village. In the states, $250 minimum.

I walked them back to their house on the other side of the village. Their house was the last house of the village and we were on the complete other side outside the village. The walk probably took an hour. We stopped at an Embera house where I photographed a girl cooking with the mother weaving a bowl. I bought a finished bowl for $7 and turned down the plate for $30. We shared a laugh and continued on. Misities, Neto and I were having a great time and laughter was our bond.

They showed me the jagua fruit from which the pigment came that was used for my tattoo on my arm the night before. They showed me a large Panama tree with its white bark and foliage that exploded into the sky 50 feet above. They laughed when I took pictures crosses from graves scattered around from neglect, and a dog on top of a tomb.

We came across the largest bug I'd ever seen. Misities said they stung and you were best to wipe it off. We identified coffee, and a chocolate tree. I bought five orange sodas for the family when we got to their store. Grandma swung on a hammock. She hasn't been the same since a fall caused her to lose her mind. I met Neto's father, a policeman in Veraguas. I met his uncle, sister and brother.

They live in a group of traditional Embera homes with no walls, a thatched roof, and a tume log for climbing into the house. The houses are near the Sabalo River and are above the ground about six feet.

As I parted I walked backwards, taking pictures of them, then waving. I told Neto that I would be back in a year. He said, "A year? Oh, that's not so bad." But I may have lied. Misities told me that he had been in the hospit

al for two months in Panama City. I asked if he will be alright? She said yes.