Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

So I hit the wall of people many cars before I am able to see the dogs.  No choice.  Gotta go.  Long legs help a lot in stepping over people… and their children… and their bags… and a little of everything else they seem to be traveling with by train.

It took me about 15 minutes to clear 4 third class cars at the end of the last of which the train began slowing for one of its many, many stops.  As soon as that happened, about 100 people in the car I was in got to their feet.  The pathway became gridlocked.  Gotta wait it out until after these people get off.

Hmmm… that guy sure is really close up behind me.  I really don’t like feeling him so close he’s touching my bum and even worse, I feel his hand trying to slip into my right car shorts pocket.  Seriously, dude, are you that bad of a pickpocket?  You’re like brushing my hand on every attempt.  Really wasn’t anything in the pocket besides my water but still, this dude needed to back off.  So, I acted like I lost my balance, fell backward into him creating a little space around us, then turned face to face with him.  In broken English, “I need get by.”  Yeah, right.  That’s why you were all up on my rear trying to stick your hand in my pocket.  I’m confident in my manhood so right after he took about 4 steps forward to the same gridlock I was waiting behind, I slid in right behind him.  Yep, fella, it’s me again, all up on your rear.  And what’s that?  Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to brush your hand in the vicinity of your pocket.  Next thing I know, he’s practically mauling people in the gridlock.  Once he got a couple of people in between us he stopped.  Guess he was closing up shop for now.  Funny thing is that a little, maybe chest-high to me, friend of his went for my left cargo pocket once we finally stopped and people began to move to the doors.  If Teddy and Theo didn’t need it so bad, I would’ve unbuttoned my pocket just to let him open up his prize of dog food later.  This time I was able to stumble hard into him since people were basically pushing and shoving to get to the door.  He about left his feet.  No more hands around my pockets.

Got up to Amir’s office about 10 minutes later and exchanged greetings before he motioned me on into the mattress cave.  I went in and Sayee was only about 2 minutes behind me.  He really liked being around the dogs and maybe even me.  At one of the following stops, a lot of cargo was being loaded into the little bit of space they had left in the car.  Sayee stood in front of the dog kennels and firmly told them that they couldn’t stack anything on or near the kennels.  Wow, that was huge.  Thanks!

8 ish pm: We finally reach the stop where Amir will allow me to take the dogs off the train to relieve themselves.  I hook them to their leashes the Sayee sticks a hand out to take one of them.  This guy is AWWRIGHT!  He takes the loud one and I take Teddy.  There were a ton of people at that train stop.  Most all of them went well out of their way to go around us and the two dogs.  They did their thang and we hopped back into the cargo car.  Back in the kennel with fresh water and Sayee and I hop back down onto the platform outside.  The train gives its warning horn that it is about to leave any second now and we start hustling down the side toward first class.  About midway, the train begins to move and Sayee pulls me into the nearest door.  We made it the rest of the way inside.

9 ish pm: Much to Dana’s delight, I tapped on the door for her to unlock the cabin and let me in.  She was feeding Asher so I gave her a minute to cover up so Sayee could quickly meet this wife and baby I was so passionate to talk about for hours up in the cargo car.  He gave his greetings then told me not to worry that he’ll take care of the dogs overnight.  The guy showed up at 7:30am the next morning to let us know the dogs are great and that he had given them more water.  Of course I tipped him.

9 am Tuesday: We arrive to the TAZARA station in Mbeya and we quickly discover there will be no porters to help us with our luggage like there were back in Dar.  Time for me to literally hurl all of it out of the nearest window.  Our friends the Duncans and their guests from Britain whom were on the train, too, helped carry it all to the Land Rover awaiting to take us home.

Sayee comes to get me on the platform to show me where the dogs were unloaded.  I went and he grabbed Theo’s kennel and I grabbed Teddy’s.  I stopped quickly when I remembered that I hadn’t said goodbye (or tipped) Amir.  I saw him standing on the train in his office door so I quickly ran over and gave him a big handshake. “Tutaonana.” We will see each other [again].

Finally, we pulled into the Baptist compound, took the luggage, dogs and baby inside to begin our life here in Mbeya.