Sarah, Amelea, and I (or formally known as "First Flight" or "Sky Island" people) went on an adventure to Wanchese yesterday. More specifically to the Fishing Industrial Park. This was not just a random adventure out, but yet we were looking for a trawl net with the grand idea in mind that we could suspend it from branches and create a "springboard" for our kids on Friday (today).
It took a few phone calls on Amelea's part to find Faron Daniels who runs the Wanchese Trawl and Fishing Supply store. She spoke with him on the phone and he invited her to drop by because of her slow accent over the phone. We ventured out and had an experience that will be kept in our memories for quite some time. Our first introduction to Faron was through a very intense, verbal argument he was having with a customer that had not paid his bill in over a year. Faron firmly told him that if he wasn't making enough money then he shouldn't be fishing. The man angrily left as Faron turned to the three of us, awkwardly posed in old fashioned chairs, and asked, "What do these boys want? Which one of you is Ohio (Amelea)?" He was friendly, in a very southern manner. If you're not from the South then this style of joking is with bold, can be taken as rude, comments from an already burly, inherently intimidating man. He guided us to the warehouse where all of the rope and nets are kept. A skinny dog tied to a rope wagged her tail and growled at us. Very mixed signals. He kept asking what size net we wanted, but we still weren't even sure he was just going to give some to us or if he expected a discounted price. Even when I asked him, he didn't give us a direct answer. In the end, he gave us 20 feet of brand new net, and offered his son up for marriage. We kindly declined and went on our way but not until after he asked us to return for a visit. We definitely are.
The actual net is suspended a couple of feet off of the ground. Although we have fit 7 adults on it at one time the plan was not to have more than 3-4 kids "learning to fly" on it at a time while we spot them from the edges. I can post a picture when I am able to get one.
Today was pretty sad. The smoke from the fire at Alligator River has caused a Code Purple warning. Which is the worst warning. The childcare centers are not allowed to let their kids out of the building because of hazards for children with respiratory issues. Our playwork narrative has been canceled for today, with hopes of re-scheduling for Monday. Everyone is pretty upset that we had to put our excitement on hold for each of our "play habitats", and we have been in front of our computers throughout the morning trying to upload photos and update blogs.
The weekend begins.
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