special as it sports but one decoration…the head of a hand made broom woven from reed fronds. It was hand woven from plants that grew wild from where it originated. And it was hand woven by me under the tutelage of Reynaldo Ruiz….a master at the art of hand made Colombian brooms ……Eighty five year old Reynaldo’s response was ….
“ That was twenty years ago ! “
That was our first meeting and I immediately liked “Don Reynaldo” …the Colombian equivalent of George Burns. He was a rare breed in Colombia in that he was somewhat middle class financially, didn’t swear…use tobacco or alcohol and insisted on washing his own socks and underwear. He made brooms by hand to sell to the neighborhood at cost. He cut hair for all that would knock on his door, played guitar for those that would listen….and he built a school and provided a teacher for those that worked his coffee farm in the mountains a few hours away. I guess that would make him a rare breed anywhere and I’m proud to have known such a man.
When I went to meet Senor Ruiz that day in 1989 I brought along a coin as a gift. A United States silver dollar with the 1904 date of his birth and today that coin was returned by the family to me. He died on August 17, 1996 leaving my wife and I a part of his legacy….and a part of that legacy is the piece of land with the school on it. I hope that school always remains….and when I go, buried or cremated…I hope that silver dollar is in my pocket.
Via con Dios…e mi pensimientos Senor Ruiz.
