Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Little Old Veggie Man - Views From My Balcony

He is a little hunched over
For sure someone's grandfather and I'm sure a great grandfather also
Pushing a cart laden with many vivid colors
Beautifully laid out
Meticulously arranged
Proud of his beautifully arranged veggies
He had a high pitched whistle as he passed
To get the attention of his clientele
It worked!
I just had to stand on the balcony.
He always saw me.
Waved and smiled
He waited for the yes or no nod from me
The no nod he would wave and go on his way whistling,
The yes nod he waited until I descended the stairs
Many times very slowly
On my bad back days he would bring what I wanted up to me.
He always asked how I was
Asked about my dog and gave her a pat when saw her.
Told me what veggies were the best and put what I wanted in a bag.
Some days when I did not have money he would let me pay later
His cart looked so heavy for his old frail looking body
No rubber tires to make it run smoother
or for his old bones to absorb the shock
But I never saw him waver in his pushing
I felt guilty sometimes that I was such a cripple and he with such energy
Rain, Sun and Humidity, It did not matter
Bringing our neighborhood fresh produce
The Old Veggie Man was always there


More street vendors and some pictures

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Jan: I've spent most of my afternoon reading your Blog even my clients have enjoyed your experience in DR. I'm now sure that I want to move there and You've helped me reach this conclusion. Was there any type of document one needs in order to live there? I'm a Cuban-American from NY and Loved Your experience there. Thank You for your input, Angel Lazaro from Long Island, NY.

Janette Keys said...

Angel, you did not leave me an address so I could respond to your question. Write me at my email, its on my web site http://www.colonialzone-dr.com
on the about us page there is a link to email me. I don't want to post it here..too much spam happens.
http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/about_us.html
I can give you more info.
Jan