Cold cokes, the apacolypse and still no camel bells

This afternoon went to the UN compound to pick up the replacement clutch. While we were waiting, we found a cold drink. I'm not sure why coke tastes so good in a hot third world country but it has to be more than the lack of high fructose corn syrup. Anyhow, it was the first cold drink in several days and was refreshing. Very refreshing. It felt fancy in the shade of a tree in a worn white plastc chair watching water leak slowly from the enormous water tank above. Drip drip sip sip.

When the world ends, I'll miss cold drinks and caffeine more than the cars and certainly more than the iPads (I detest typing on this thing- using the screen keyboard is like picking marbles from a bowl of jello). Speaking of a post apocalyptic world, I don't think the nomads with their camels would even blink while the rest of us would wither. I'm awestruck at how families live with these animals amidst the hot sand and shrubs. No washing machines, air conditioning or hot showers. a Jerry can to store camels milk in and to use as a pillow. A shirt to hold up over your head during a downpour when it is the rainy season.

On our drives, we rocket past these still families barely visible in the shade of the brush and eight foot tall animals and I think about our time passing quickly while theirs remains stationary. I believe sometime in our future these families will be tending their camels and walking past grown over roads and rusted automobiles casting cool shadows on the sand. While our technological society blooms and flourishes and finally exhausts our resources and then wilts, these people living so close to the earth will be hardy seeds of our humanity.

I hope that one of these hardy families will agree to part with a camel bell soon, but it did not happen today either. I was offered to trade an entire camel (bell included I assume) for four head of cattle. Further negotiation resulted in the offer expanded to include goats in case I did not have enough cattle. This would be at the rate of fifteen goats to one cow. Alas, another camel bell deal falls through.