watching the world go by

There's a single sheet with which to cover myself on my bed, a ceiling fan and a floor fan. Still I slept with the window and balcony door open last night. The fan helped to drown out the street noise, and the room would have been intolerable without it anyway. When I walk into a place with air conditioning, I confess to feeling an immediate relief and delight, but it doesn't take long for it to chill instead. Best of all is to find a spot in the shade, where the breeze cools the sweat on your skin, a cold drink and people watching to be done. The faces here are intriguing. There is quite a mix of ethnicity, due mostly to some of Panama's not so dignified history of making use of others either against their will or for wages that keep them in poverty. But of course Panama has no corner on that market. At any rate, you can see people of African descent, native Panamanians (Indians, for lack of a better word), Asians and European, and most frequently there is a mixture. Some family groups seem to be rainbows of skin colors. Not very many albinos like me, but almost any other can be found here. I posted a few photos, hoping this works... If this doesn't work as a link, copy and paste the following into your browser: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=farmerrirene&target=ALBUM&id=5873046051336229681&authkey=Gv1sRgCPiml_H-yKSKlQE&feat=email