When I went to Ace hardware a few weeks before our trip to Haiti to buy supplies I inquired of the salesman about the how to's of painting masonary walls. His answers were vague and not very helpful. SO I did what I always do when I have questions like that. I called my older brother Digger. He is pretty much a genius about such things. So I walked up and down the isle and over the phone he picked out for me about $250.00 of supplies. He told me what nap roller to buy and what grade of sandpaper and "Yes you have to sand and clean before painting." I bought the better brushes and caulking gun and a file for the scrappers. Never mind that we didn't have any caulk when we got there.As we started the project Diggers words over the years rolled around in my head. "You can cut corners and make it pretty but in a year you will be doing it all over again." It started out pretty good but as the walls stretched on the paint sucked up and the supplies ran low there started to be a few spots that I knew would never cut it in my brother's paint jobs. When someone suggested that we really didn't need to sand the walls Digger's voice echoed in my head. "Do it right now or do it again in a year." At one point I stated that if it were my house I would want another coat in the master bedroom. Not for nothing but that was really Digger saying that through me. Really when the day (week) was done the place looked great. Not Digger great but pretty good just the same.
Patrick a Haitian teen who is a wonderful artist used masking tape to tape a brush to a mop handle to cut in on the very high celiings. Brillant. Several times I spoke in English to some of our wonderful helpers thinking they understood only to find out later that they did not. Pesky thing language can be sometimes.
So I would like to publically thank my brother Digger for his coming with me on this amazing journey to Haiti. Even if he was only in my head.
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