Cool Places Cool People

I really like what I do. Meeting extraordinary people in amazing places, and hearing how they just take in-stride obstacles that most would find impossible.
We drove out to a town outside of Lahore the other day to talk to the local government folks, aka, my peeps. As we drove out, the sky darkened at 9 am to the point that it looked like the whole world would soon blow away. Think Dorothy and Kansas.
We got to City Hall, which had no electric. No big deal. The servants—and they really are servants—coolies or peons in India (yes, the term still exists, and though it seems incredibly offensive, that’s what they are called), come out and light candles. They hold the candles a few seconds, dump the wax on a coaster-sized slab of rock, and sit the candle on top, which seals to the rock as the wax hardens. No candle holder needed. I had never seen that before. Cool.
A while later the power comes home, and suddenly we are sitting in a wind tunnel. 6 or 7 ceiling fans, which had been hanging out in the dark, suddenly start up with a giant whoosh, blowing papers around the room. No one blinks, and the candles blow out. I never know how to react, so I don’t blink in offices when the lights go out, and I don’t blink when they come on. It’s just a routine part of life.
Our hosts are just delightful—more than happy to give us a lot of their time and insights. The City Manager is a older guy with a flowing white beard and a delightful and tooth-impaired smile. Bright guy. It always reminds me that we aren’t smarter than these guys, but our systems sure are better—and that’s why we are there, to try to figure out some better systems that will give good people a chance to improve their communities. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Meanwhile, just about the time you’re boding with your colleagues and starting to think you are sitting in Montgomery or something—ok, maybe Lexington, KY—you sometimes hear things that remind you that you are someplace different. For instance, one of the guys we are talking to begins to advocate for water meters, as they provide equity in payment based on water usage. For instance he says, some people barely use any water, and they shouldn’t have to pay an amount equal to his friend that has a large garden and 20 [water] buffaloes.
Dang right—if you are going to have a herd of water buffalo in your back yard, you ought to be willing to pay a bit more for the water.
How can you not like this stuff?