Travels, Day 22, On The Way To Guatemala

Mom's travelogue continues:

Date: July 10, 1972 Mon

"We talked to Mr R. owner of a new house we looked at. He agreed to furnish it for us. We are to pick out the furniture and Saturday we can move in. Zone 14 3 ave 6-77.

We looked at furniture in evening. [Dad + Brother] went for a motorcycle ride + had a flat tire. Had to push it for 2 miles."

When I'm on my bike, something the weather has prevented lately, I always fear that I'll get a flat when I'm 10 - 15 miles from home and will have to walk back to the house pushing my bike. I've fixed that by buying a patch kit and a small air pump for my bike. I don't think I worried about that when I was a kid. I got plenty of flat tires but never very far from home.

The house was pretty cool. Like most house in Guatemala City, it had a tall wall around the yard. Our wall was brick with random bricks sticking out a half inch or so. This made it possible for an eight year old boy like me to climb the wall. I liked walking along the top of the seven or eight foot wall. I'm sure I made my Mom nervous. Strange thing is, as I got older I developed a mild fear of heights. I shake when I'm on a ladder and my palms sweat even when I see someone on a high ledge.

I miss the fearlessness of youth.