October 31, 2002

We are about ready to entertain 12 Mzungus from Bakersfield who are proposing to build a school at Byumba, we hope that it is survivable. They are planning to teach the pygmies how to build Americanstyle, we should have a few laughs
Carol and I had heard about an exceedingly elderly pygmy who was an astute story teller and apparently the keeper of the pygmy legends. We had searched for him but after a year we concluded that perhaps he was a legend also. Recently when we were visiting a remote area, we heard that he lived nearby. We hiked up a steep trail and came upon a pygmy settlement perched on a narrow ridge. In the middle of a cluster of huts there sat an old pygmy in the doorway of his banana leaf structure. He was blind, racked with arthritis, unable to walk due to contracted joints and covered with fly infested sores. We gave him a much needed blanket and after traditional plesentries we asked if he would be willing to tell us a story which we would put into print so it could be taught to the young pygmies in school. His craggy face broke into a huge grin and before Carol could extract her cam corder he broke in a melodious song which described how day and night became separated. A wild thunderstorm ended any further renditions but he allowed that he had as many stories to tell as we had time. We look forward to getting to know him better over the next several months.