Always An Adventure

While we were sleeping . . . .

Then we woke up. Susie reached for her phone to check the time. The phone wasn’t on the bedside table. She thought perhaps she left it in the kitchen the night before – which she has never done. Susie ventured out into the living area and noticed that a few things had been rearranged – most notably the cigar box in which she keeps her jewelry was on the floor and the contents of Randy’s brief case were stacked in precise piles. Her first thought (a ridiculous one) was that the puppy was responsible. But it wasn’t the puppy – both laptops and two phones and a kindle and Randy’s wallet and Susie’s passport and a camera were missing. Clearly we had been robbed. We reported the robbery to the security guards who purportedly keep us safe, but do have a habit of snoozing all night long. They made a cursory inspection and then contacted the police. Shortly a crew of plain clothed officers slinging machine guns arrived. They asked no questions- not at all like it is on TV. Finally, the lead investigator said to Randy, “Why don’t you show me how you think you locked the door.” Blaming the victim – yes. That didn’t go over so well with Randy. The officers decided that it really wasn’t their jurisdiction as we are not residents, so they sent us to the tourist police station in nearby Bamburi.

Police officer catching up on the daily
news before taking our statement

    At the tourist police station the officer took our statement which consisted of the officer writing a first person narrative of events, and then we signed it. Before taking our statement, he collected sheets of plain white paper, a ruler, and a pen. Using the supplies, he meticulously created a form (margins, lines, etc) upon which to write the statement. Vestiges of colonial rule!

     Of course, after all this serious police work, none of our items have been recovered and no suspects are in custody. However, the robbery did create a kerfuffle with the property management and owners. They decided to beef up security – hiring a new security company, stationing a guard to watch our apartment all night, and they have installed thick iron security doors on all of the apartments. 

The new security doors.
Note that there is no way to lock the door
when you leave the house. A minor oversight.

While we thought we'd made a friend . . .
   Remember Jackson? The “beach boy” mentioned in other blog posts? The one who used to run with Randy on the beach? The one with whom Randy had conversations about the thriving sex trade here in Mombasa? The one who talked lovingly about the importance of being a good role model for his children? Well, he no longer runs with Randy on the beach. In fact, we haven’t seen him on the beach in months. Jackson has found an older European woman (late 70s maybe?). He lives in her apartment and is her “driver”. Hmmm. Like the 2012 film Paradise: Love (watch the trailer)? Ken, another beach boy, related that Jackson’s wife probably knows about his new employment. Ken is envious of Jackson’s good fortune and hopes he will one day have such an opportunity.

While we missed being with our families for Thanksgiving . . .

Stuffed capon, mashed potatoes,
squash, peas, gravy, and salad.

    Obviously, Thanksgiving is not a thing here and while there is no turkey or cranberry sauce we had a lovely capon dinner for two. Thanksgiving is not a thing here, but Black Friday is. Perplexing. And Christmas decorations have been up since October! We shop to tunes such as “Feliz Navidad” and “It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. It’s sunny and 90 degrees here and Santa and his reindeer travel on a caterpillar.

We love this country!

Sending hugs and holiday wishes to all.

No snow? No problem!!

-Randy and Susie