A Little Less Selfishness…please

Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs, which can now be seen online  (in Spanish) as well. 

The
predictions were dire. We were warned that not only would we regret buying an
old broken down home in the old town because of all the inconveniences that
come with them, but we would also be exposing ourselves and our future family
to the ‘dangerous people’ that lurked in the shadows of the UNESCO core. This was
0ver a decade ago. We had just finished living on the Mekong River in Laos and
my wife and I took the decision to return here to her roots. We found a place
within the adobe walls that I had fallen in love with when I first saw the setting
sun on the tower of the Yerba and as of yet, the dire predictions thankfully
haven’t come true. Not that there haven’t been adventures for this Canadian.
Something as simple as hanging a painting can become an expeditionary task when
our old wall decides to crumble beneath my fingers. Then there’s the threat of
lead in our water or the time we discovered that our entire plumbing system had
dissolved sometime around the first republic. But as for the dangers? From the
helpful architect on the corner, to the local wisdom of the octogenarian who
was born in her narrow house , whose memories reach back beyond her years,
normal lives continue to be led in this living museum. Then there’s the music
teachers and their growing family up the hill and of course, the indefatigable
president of the neighbourhood association around the corner, these walls host a
community, a neighbourhood and all that entails. In fact, in these ten years, if
there have been any serious inconveniences, they have been political. Be it the
fact that the diputacion made sure they had hi speed internet while those who
voted for them across the street struggle to watch upload Youtube videos. Or the
complete absence of communication from the Town Hall regarding the near
constant stream of events that bring about traffic closures. My hope is that in the upcoming local elections,
whoever ends up occupying the Mayor’s office on the other side of the wall from
our barrio, they remember that while that chair may be comfortable, they were
chosen to help better the lives of those who live here and not just to make
sure their downloads at work go faster.