"Pony"

a.k.a Paul. He´s the tiniest one of the group of kids from Iñaquito market... I think he must be at least 8 or 9,, but he´s tiny. He´s also got a temper (makes up for his size, right?)... which I´m happy to say he seems to be managing a bit better all the time. He´s got really good logic, too -- a really good "strategy man" for the Sorry game.

We had finished playing the other day, and all the kids were particularly hungry, and Pony (in particular) was pressing for something to eat. I asked him to walk with me 1 block up to the bakery. He thought I should go get the bread and bring it back. Then I told him I thought if they should want the bread, he ought to come with me. So he decided he´d tag along.

We had crossed the street, and that´s when the "wincha" (towtruck) came. You see,,, they´ve rezoned the area and are enforcing parking laws anyways. If you park over the "zebra" (pedestrian crossing), they´ll tow your car. They take fotos, leave a sticker on the curb to tell you where you can find your car, and you have to pay a hundred or so (can´t remember exact price) to get your car back. At that intersection, they´re taking about 4-5 cars a day...

Of course, Pony froze to watch the misfortune. I just stood back and waited for him to be done. I was surprise he didn´t stay the whole time til the towtruck pulled away. So we started walkinga again the rest of the way up to the bakery. That´s when he told me in his gruff, angry voice that those were bad men,,, taking those cars away like that. I told him it might look that way,,, but that actually those people weren´t obeying the law, and that there are some logical consequences for disobedience... and that when they park there, they block traffic and walkways and create more problems. That was the end of the conversation,, and we got to the bakery, and he picked out chocolate bread after stressing himself out trying to think how many he had to choose for.

On the way back (we didn´t take more than 5 minutes at the bakery), as we got to the corner, another guy had already parked his car in the exact spot where the one that had been towed was. As soon as Pony saw the car there, he crossed the street, found the guy who owned it, and told him he couldn´t park there or his car would be towed. The gentleman thanked him, and went looking for another space further down the road.

I think we have a potential little evangelist on our hands :) I hope, like Pony, we come to the same conclusion... when we see people behaving in ways that will bring them unpleasant consequences, we´d be so kind as to warn them of the danger they´re in. Some of them might actually say "thank you" some day.

M