Friends and Laughs

The last two weeks I've been feeling pretty crummy with a nasty cold and cough; something I brought back with me from the Dominican Republic. It really hit me hard once I made it back to Friday Harbor. When I get sick, I can really suck into self. Thus, my blogging was halted for a week. The title picture now up on the blog was taken at Bahia de los Aguiles, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, in my opinion. It is located near Perdonales in the D.R., about a 3 hour drive from Barahona. Willi and Miraldo decided to bury Collin in the sand and the laughter was plentiful during the process. I love the fact that the laughter is contagious. See the photo of Austin and his seaweed hair and Rambo dangling his pink shoes over the front of the boat. Both of these scenes generated a ton of laughter amongst all of us. Gershon and Manuel climbing the coconut tree for fresh coconuts at the Casa also provided many laughs. I still don't know how they do that, amazing! Laughter on a daily basis is something I really miss in the Dominican Republic. The people are so joyful and seem to take life a little less seriously. Yesterday in the barber shop CNN news was on and there was anything but laughter there as we were bombarded with the news of the theater killings in Colorado. This hit me like a ton of bricks and sadness swept over me like a dense fog. The seriousness of life, and the reality that life is short and precious is in my conciousness today.