Dear Don1001,
I can’t save the World; I may not even be able to save myself. One can rail against the ignorance that seems to dominate the World for so long, before the introspection begins. It’s early in the morning and two days after my “Christmas” binge, a ghost from Christmas past returns; Stacy Ann Marie, a precocious young lady I met in Liberia in the winter of 92’. I was bringing “merchandise” into Liberia during the First Liberian Civil War (thankfully I was out of the business by the time of the Second Liberian Civil War) and I had a house on the beach in a “safe” zone. One day while I was on the beach two young ladies walked up in cut-offs, used as bathing suits, (written on the butt of their cut-offs in magic marker was the word “juicy”) and began to practice their English slang with me. Stacy Ann asked “What’s your name dog?” Hearing this immediately caused me to almost double over with laughter and Stacy Ann to playfully smack me. After talking a bit, her friend excused herself and I found myself asking her if she wanted to get something to eat. Stacy said yes, but she needed something more appropriate to wear and wanted to know if I had something she could borrow. We wandered into my place and I found a decent shirt and a pair of shorts that would fit her, as I handed the clothes she immodestly took of her tank top and cut-offs and stood there naked. As took the clothes from my hand she quickly bobbed up and kissed me on the cheek. Then just as speedily Stacy Ann Marie had put on the clothes and was dragging me to her favorite place to eat. That night Stacy Ann moved in and a week or so later so did her relatives. I think there about five people; Mom, 2 sisters 2 brothers and occasionally her Dad. It was a great arrangement, they took care of all my needs and any surplus I had I shared with them. Stacy Ann was a cute young lady with a great sense of humor that initially told me she was 21, then 19 and I suspected that she was 18. But what rocked my American sensibilities was when a cousin (Wanda, a former teacher in her 20’s, schools were almost non-existent) visited and told me that Stacy Ann was having a Birthday next month and that the child would be 16 years old. Some things do make you pause and think, like being a 36 year old of European descent in the middle of an African Civil War with a 15 years old woman/child common-law wife and her family. I blurted out to her cousin “I’m 36, what should I do?” She asked “are you good to her and the family?” I said “I treat them as my own.” Wanda said, ”Then keep doing what you’re doing.” Later I confronted Stacy Ann on why she lied about her age, Stacy Ann started to cry and said, ”Because you would think I was too young and send me away.” Which is exactly what I should have done, but I didn’t. Then she started hugging me and then kissing me, which led to us making love, going out for seafood and then bringing a bunch of food back for the family. Which was one of our favorite activities and everything remained the same. And for a couple of weeks our strange family unit worked until a frantic phone call at three in the morning, telling me that the man I’d been doing business with, could no longer hold onto the town where I’d set up and that I had about two hours before a bunch of teenagers wearing wedding dresses carrying AK-47’s and rocket launchers would arrive, geeked up on weed, cocaine and gun powder. So immediately everyone starts packing, Stacy Ann is begging me to take her with me, which I can’t. I have one seat on a transport and I get one bag, nothing else. Anything I can’t pack I give to Mom, plus a couple of pistols and all of my local currency. Before I can really say anything to Stacy Ann, the Hummer is there to take me to the airport, before it falls. I’m standing there holding her, car horn blaring, I take off my bracelet and put it on her wrist and tell her that I will send for her. We have a brief hug as I begin to cry with her and for a moment I held her as I had never held another person. Then I got in the Hummer and left the country. I never saw Stacy Ann Marie again; I hope she’s okay.
You can see videos of these sage observations here: http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhum
www.bell-jarboefilms.com
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