In Which Quails Appear on 7th Avenue

When I left Honduras, I was shocked by how much shopping I had done during those two years. Over consumption must have been my defense against home sickness, because it would have taken twenty times the regulation two suitcases to haul all that stuff back up here. My most insurmountable problem was that I had massive amounts of clothes several sizes too big for the native population, but my maid mysteriously claimed most of it anyway before telling me, "I guess I have to go work in a sweatshop now."

Saying goodbye to my maid was a traumatizing event (why can't she get Facebook?), but just as disconcerting was my fond farewell to the Honduran Mormons. They were there for me through stool samples, colonoscopies and myriad other dilemmas, so I was happy to give them everything that I had to leave behind. "Hermana," one of the women emoted, "This is our blessing for paying tithing!*" At first I thought that it was funny that someone would think my old stuff was a blessing, but as a New Yorker addicted to moving sales and Craigslist free, I finally understand.


Which brings me back to the fact that through events that could only be divinely orchestrated, my friend Stef and I are constantly the recipients of random prepackaged food items. Despite the general counsel to the contrary, I must admit that we drank the possibly A.I.D.s infected Gatorades mentioned here. It was hot this summer, ok? After this, I thought that we had been blessed enough for an honest tithe, but sometimes we receive much, much more than we give.

There was a torrential downpour on Saturday and thanks to poor engineering on the part of the City of New York, the streets were overflowing with water. As we waded down the sidewalk, my friend unexpectedly broke from the group and started frantically fishing out some mysterious items that were drifting downstream. This was strange behavior, even for us. Then she showed us her spoils and everyone cheered:



It was delicious.

*Mormons customarily pay tithing, or ten percent of their income to the Church.