December 19

I just made some arroz con pollo and it is ready to be eaten, but this is more important.

Rosie's son is greying in his beard and on his chest. His eyes are clear and intelligent. Last night I remembered the drug that is used to control schizophrenics: thorazine. People taking thorazine move slowly and with deliberation, like Rosie's son. This afternoon I needed to fill a small butane tank for my stove. I was looking for Rosie, hoping for a ride to the Butane dealer, but she wasn't around. I took a look at the bathroom provided for RV tenants, Rosie's son came along and gave me a limp handshake. I told him my name, but he did not tell me his. I told him I needed to fill the tank, and was looking for Rosie to get directions to the butane dealer. Rosie's son said he knew where it was, and we walked there together, taking turns carrying the tank. He speaks English, but he doesn't have much to say to me, nor I to him.

When we got to the butane dealer he didn't know what to do. I told him, after another customer showed me, that we should get in line with our tank, and told him to ask that it be filled. Four men were filling thanks, on a platform 40cm above the yard, in which motor vehicles come and go. There is a small "No Smoking" sign on the platform. Most of the tanks that they fill, including mine, would be rejected by any propane dealer in Canada. They are of all shapes, sizes, and ages. Butane is sold here by the kilogram, and there are scales like those in doctor's offices that measure how much has been put into a tank. I got 10 kilos for 90 pesos.

There is a cross-eyed handyman whom Rose calls Juanito, and Juan and I hooked up the butane tank, using a regulator and fittings we found among the junk lying in one of the apartments. One burner of the stove is working, and I think I can get the other to work, and Rosie has promised me a new microwave.. There is running cold water, and plumbing for hot water, but no hot water heater is connected to this apartment. Juan is working on the toilet.

When the sun shines this apartment is bright, and with a paint job it could be cheerful. It was very dirty, and still is, in places. I worked on it until I needed to cook supper, which I did by the l\light of a ceiling fixture which is metal and has an astronomical motif. It casts a spot about a meter in diameter on the ceiling and a little more light, but not mech, shines through its star-shaped holes. I made a good supper and drank five cans of beer.