At the crack of 2:37AM, I'm startled by a rooster
yelling in my ear, not more than a few feet away. Then, just as I find sleep,
the rooster calls out again. 3:21AM. Did someone import this rooster and forget
to reset his clock? Ever half hour thereafter, the rooster reminds me how
annoying he is.
With an unstoppable alarm clock on the fritz, I give
up and step outside the tent. 5:00AM, a desperate moan comes from the other
side of a barbed fence, so naturally I find myself walking over. Five kids are
running through a herd of cattle, long stick and ropes in hand. Singling out a
large cow with sharp curved horns, the boys throw the rope and proceed to run
circles around the terrified animal, winding him with rope. As soon as the cow
trips, a brave boy dodges the horns and lunges out with a long knife, stabbing
him in the back of the head. I try to turn away, but can't... The most ugly cry
gurgles from the dying cow, but I stand, trying to sensitize myself to how the
rest of the world feeds themselves.
Calvin
(to be
continued) 