Proud Owner

   I was driving in a pickup through the mountains two weeks ago, with a 100 pound pig in the back.  As I stopped on the side of the road, to check on Lucy (the pig), I just smiled as I thought back on all the things that led to this point in life: on an island in Asia, stopped on the side of the road in a mountain village, petting and talking to a pig while all the people passing on motorbikes stared at the white guy talking to a pig...

   I was taking Lucy to a friend that lives in north Bali.  He has some slight disabilities but is determined to work hard to provide for his family.  He already has one pig, but it was small and not producing enough babies.  He needed a good one, and that's where the partnership started.  So he'll raise Lucy for me, and in return for taking care of Lucy, he gets the piglets (minus one for me) each time Lucy has babies.  It's a great setup because he has a sustainable income, and I get a new piglet every once in a while to share with someone else. Lucy should be getting pregnant soon, so that means I'll be getting another pig soon...  and will probably end up hauling that pig through the mountains while contemplating all the things that brought me to that point in life.