Saturday, February 9, 2008

OK Dottie

OK Dottie, you got me out of my slump. Linda is still doing about the same. Right now she is hooked up to the tubes and will be for the next few hours. For the last few days, as soon as she is set free we both take about an hour walk. The day before yesterday we were out and we were going shopping, so we were going thru one of the stores when nature called on Linda. Now the Ladies rooms here would make all you proper ladies back home cringe. What you have is a hole in the floor that you squat over and let go. I am not sure how that works because I haven't witnessed it first hand, but just from a scientific point of view, I would like to see it just once. Also, they don't provide paper and you must carry your own to use. than, you can't put your paper into the hole in the ground, you put the used paper into a basket next to the hole. So for some reason, Linda didn't want to use that. For us spoiled westerners they provide western style toilets and Linda is glad for that. But we were there and the toilet was here, so double time back to our room. And for all you guys laughing out there, the guys have the same hole in the ground, but you have to stand and aim, and not every one is a good shot.

After we were here for 5 weeks my hair started to look like a haystack. So in my travels I kept my eyes open for a barber shop. I noticed all the guys had nice trimmed hair so they must go somewhere. I asked Diana about that and she said she would have a barber come here. But I wanted to do the Chinese thing and get one where the rest of the guys go. So as I would ride my bike around I looked for a place to get a hair cut. Now remember that word, haircut. All I saw were beauty shops and they looked like the ones back home so I stopped at one and walked in and pointed to my hair. The woman nodded and had me take off my coat, laid me down and washed my hair. Than sat me up in a chair and I guess she was asking how I wanted it. I saw a guy walking outside with normal hair, so I pointed to him and than to my head. She said Ah and started to cut. Or should I say sculpt. She didn't cut my hair, she cut each hair by it's self until she had what she liked, and it looked damm good. Linda said that's the best hair cut I ever had. Just before we come home I am going back there and than first thing before it grows out show my barber how I want it from now on.

The other day I rode the bike to the store and picked up some stuff. When you park your bike here there is a long row of bikes and you put yours in where there is a space. So when I came out I put the grocery's in the front basket and started to put my gloves on. Well the extra weight in the front basket caused the front wheel to turn and the bike fell over. As it fell it knocked the bike next to it over and the next and in slow motion about 100 bikes fell over. It looked like something I saw once on TV outside a Harley bar. Now there is no such thing as not being noticed in China. The population of Beijing is 30 million people and they must of all been there that morning. So I stood there frozen not believing what I had just done. I could see smiles all over the place and everyone just stood there to see what I was going to do about it. Well you have to start somewhere, so I picked my bike up and stood it up than went to the end of the line and started to pick each one back up and than the next. The crowd saw the show was over so they started to move on again. When people here move on it is like a big river moving along. If any part of it stops the whole city comes to a stand still, so it was a good thing they started moving again. This river of people meshes with the river of cars on the street and no one stops, but they all intertwine and against all laws of nature, it works.

This is enough for a while, Linda is almost done with the iv's for today, so I think we are heading out.

john and linda in China

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