A personal aside

MAY 4—It rained hard last night, loud and long. Snuggled in my warm bed the sound was strangely comforting. It blended with the resonating prayers of Ethiopian Orthodox priests chanting through the night. This too was warm and comforting. The outside morning air was thick with the pungent smell of damp earth and wood smoke. It’s been 35 years since I last experienced these sounds and smells. They were still deeply familiar. My body still knows what my mind hasn’t bothered to recollect.

Still on the nostalgia tour, I cannot overlook the donkeys. How sweet it is to see streets filled with donkeys both laden and free. These beasts of burden are a huge boon to the poor farmers of Ethiopia. Apparently there are eight million in the country. Only China has more.