I went to get the paper this morning, but it wasn’t in the front yard. I cursed then I noticed it in my neighbor’s yard. It had been blown by the wind, the mighty wind. All the trees are bending. We have a wind advisory. It is raining.

This morning I flashed back to Saturdays when I was a kid. I found a YouTube channel with black and white science fiction movies from the 50’s. I am watching Invasion of the Saucer Men, little green aliens who arrived in a flash of light in a flying saucer. It has screaming teenage girls, unbelieving police and a moving hand with deadly nails dripping poison. I had Rice Krispies for breakfast, the same breakfast I ate as a kid. The only difference is I am on the couch, not on the floor in front of the TV. I’d never get up again.

When I lived in Ghana, I traveled most school holidays. Usually I went to Accra and from there to Togo, a small country to the west. Before I could leave Ghana, I needed a re-entry permit even though I had a resident’s visa. I also needed a visa from the Togo embassy. On one of my previous visits to the embassy I learned the man giving visas had once lived in Boston. I played on that. Sometimes the man chose not to give visas. He wasn’t in the mood. Volunteers I knew would come out of the office shaking their heads. When I went in, we’d chat. I always mentioned the weather in Boston and what was happening there. I always got a visa. I’d walk out of the office with my passport opened to the visa. The next visit before I left the country was to the government office to get my reentry permit. I always got one there too. The man had pictures on his desk of his family, and on a previous visit I had asked about them. I knew all their names so I’d ask the guy how his family was doing using their names. I always got my re-entry permit.

I wrote an aerogram to one of my friends not long before my end of service. I’m going to quote from that letter.

“Lately I’ve been thinking about going home. Sometimes I worry about being very dissatisfied with what I’ll find. Going into Peace Corps was the best thing I could have done. I’ve learned a lot about Africa, the states and myself. I’ve realized how lucky I have been. This experience has been mind blowing. All of a sudden I’ve been awakened to sounds, colors, sights and feelings that I didn’t know existed before. it is an experience I will never forget because I’ve tried to absorb every part of my life here so memories can be brought back, so my memories will never dim.”