Persimmons, Pomegranates, Plums, and Mangoes

Tonight is the eve of the Eid, a time of festivity and sharing. Every Muslim family of sufficient means is asked to buy a lamb and have it slaughtered in commemoration of Abraham's intended sacrifice of Ishmael. Every family is to provide for the poor families around them; then they can keep a share of the meal for themselves.

For us, it is a time when fewer cars are on the roads. Many wealthier families have sought vacation time down at the beaches. It was eerily quiet at the Center this morning because everyone started to take the day off. Markets and malls are closed tomorrow in celebration of the holy day. Though it is a one day feast, the holiday extends from Thursday through Monday. People will return to work on Tuesday and the pace of life will pick up the following Sunday.

The other day a friend from Jordan was with us as we made our travels to Umm ar Rasas. I laughed when he told us to go straight-forward. The road was straight, but there is no such thing as straight-forward on these roads. Cars dart to the right and left. Even well marked lines on the roads are not intended for drivers. Mostly, they mean no harm. It is simply space to be occupied and they take it. They may always be in a rush to get somewhere, it is more about going where your car takes you than actually driving the car. It is almost like riding a camel. You go in the general direction where the camel takes you.

To me, everything is backwards. On a panel of light switches near the door, you might think that the switch closest to the door operates the outside light. No. That is the third one from the right. The right switch turns on the living room lights. It happens with everything. A door that I expect to push out pulls in. Light switches are mostly outside the room you are in. Standards seems a bit off to me. I finally took my three rings of keys and placed them onto one large chain. It weighs me down, but I can easily grasp my keys.

I ate my first persimmons the other day. It looks like a blood tomato. It doesn't look all that appealing, but when you open it up it is a nice yellow orange color. The taste isn't very strong. It is odorless and almost tasteless, but there is something nice about it. The texture is firm enough like an almost ripe peach.

This is pomegranate harvesting season. Road kiosks sell tons of pomegranates. People stop and pick up a couple to take home. I've eaten several of them before. I don't see the point of them because they are a myriad of seeds with little pulp around them. Apparently, there is a machine that lightly jogs the peeled fruit so the seeds are separated from the pulp. People enjoy eating them with a little help along the way.

The plums are excellent right now. They are very tasty. White plums have the same taste as red ones, but it is interesting to eat the white ones. They captivate you in some neat way.

I had a super huge mango the other day. It's pit was enormous. They come from Israel because they need a lot of water. We have super-size oranges that also come from Israel - because they have water there. Anyways, the mango was so tasty, but I needed a new shirt when I was finished. I tried to be neat and clean, but that darned fruit keeps slipping out of my hands. I recalled eating my first mango - very tasty, but unforgettable because of what was living inside of it.

Today I visited an old papi of the parish. He lost his sister a year ago and is still grieving. Poor thing. The mere mention of her name breaks him up.

We are readying for our First Annual Halloween party. I am probably the most excited. I bought a Scream mask for 1 JD today and a plastic pumpkin that has probably been around since 1966. I made some cutout designs and other decorations today and arranged how I would set up the center table. I have an orange and purple pumpkin and then I did my first watercolor painting in Jordan. It is a watercolor made by a third-grader, but I will get better at it as I practice and learn the skills. It is simply meant to provide some color for the party. Every time I try to enhance it, it becomes worse. Oh well, I at least provided myself some entertainment. I think I will do another one on election night so my nerves remain calm.

Oh, yes, we have newly sworn in ministers. Their first act was to cancel the time change today. Instead of leaving summer Daylight Savings Time, we stay within it. We were scheduled to change the time tonight. It seems like it so too easy. Someone just decided it wouldn't happen, so it doesn't. No one knows why it was decided that way. Nothing is straight forward.