A harsh reality

Different doesn't do justice to the void between life in Peru and in the U.S.

Alien would be much more like it, and damned if the commenters on newspaper sites wouldn't approve of the usage upgrade.

The depth of the poverty here can take your breath away. The likes of the clothes on half the people I passed this weekend have never been seen in any of the homes of anyone I've ever worked with. The poorer the families are, the more kids they have -- roaming the streets, dirty and smiling. It's the damnedest thing. The innocence and the ignorance of the kids seems to allow and/or enforce an air of happiness. They smile, they shout Hola to old white guys, they run away laughing.

Every one hustles for a sole -- or dollar or yen or whatever. Kids work, old people work, everyone -- everywhere. One 50ish guy, who must have come late to the game -- stood between lanes at a busy intersection in downtown Lima flogging Q-tips. I swear. Old people sell fresh squeezed orange juice, belts, CDs, chips, canday, whatever, on every corner in town.

Taking the bus from Lima down to Pisco was fascinating, but I think only because of my time at a daily newspaper -- and dealing remotely almost daily with some aspect of the seamy underside of life. Otherwise, I can't see how anyone would see how these folks live and not cry. Flat out destitution -- and worse, less hope for improvement than any poor folk in America.

Pisco, a small coastal town a couple hours south of Lima, was leveled by an earthquake 8-15-08. Their subsistence level truly would be alien to anyone in America. Anyone. Rubble everywhere. Stray dogs everywhere. Hope nowhere. Still, they go on as best they can, because they have no choice.

My cab driver, who took me from the bus stop about 6 miles to Pisco for 6 soles, or $2, gave me a little tour of Pisco. He introduced himself and showed me pictures of his little darlings. When I showed him mine, he begged me not to stay in Pisco -- no seguro, no seguro -- he said. Not safe. This guy's own house was leveled, and he's worried about me. Go figure.

Anyway, manana we move on to Ica, an oasis town in the desert of Peru. Who knew Peru has a desert? And apparently it's the driest on Earth. I also hope to find a machine I can upload some photos into. Holla