Back up to Speed... for Guys in their 70th Year

Veteran Dennis Arrived and Started Running [figuratively]

After some naptime (Dennis came by the redeye from Toronto), we headed down to St Ann's to look at the site for the basketball court Dennis and his friends planned to put up for the girls.   Many of the girls remember him; they were telling the "new" girls about the parachute though the new ones were wanting to jump out of a plane!   The yard has a good concrete base and with a little cleaning up will make great courts for basketball and volleyball.

Dennis is welcomed by all the girls - little and big- who remembered him.  Paulina at the Brazilian Churrascaria remembered his love of pink umbrellas.

Sticking with Basketball

We looked at several possibilities for putting up a backboard; these included stealing an old one from from the high school next door and getting a contractor-fabricator to install it on a pole embedded in the concrete so that it would be more permanent.  Sister Leonie had showed me the new one at St. Rosa's and it is a fortress..  and yes those are 12"Steel iBeams!  Not even in New York City!

Well, after  several weeks of me doing some ground work we had a contractor who knew all about building a basketball court - until I showed him a picture -- ugh.   However, he would get someone to call me back that afternoon ..... as you guessed, no call that afternoon, nor the next day, etc. .....  It is impossible to get anything done quickly in Guyana - or so I thought. 

  

On Tuesday afternoon, we went out looking for who had these basketball backboards and stuff... one sports store had a nice backboard and rim, but no attachment kit... not helpful, but they told us that any contractor could make one ..... probably the same one who never called us back.   We wanted something that was going to outlast the balls we had!  Permanence is more of a temporary concept in Guyana ..... We got our trusty taxi driver to take us to Gizmos and Gadgets where I had seen a portable one.  It was twice as expensive as just a backboard with no attachment kit and no fabricator to make one and not a chance that Dennis or I could weld one ..... The portable one looked great and was getting more sturdy-looking the more we considered our options.

A lovely sales person, Debra, came over and had heard our concerns about permanence and answered all our other questions.  We decided we would buy it.   Debra informed us that it would come in a box and unassembled ..... frightening nightmares of holiday-gift-assembling being done into the wee hours before the kids woke up... and now we would have 40 girls waiting for us to put it together.   

Dennis blinked first and asked if there was anyway they could assemble it ..... and yes, but there would be a charge.  He didn't even wait to find out how much... better option he said.     

Would they take Visa? Yes. Great. Debra returned with the bad news ..... They did not have any more, just the floor model.  Would they sell us the floor model?  (You know:  the already-assembled one. )  Debra checked with the manager and he said yes.   Now, could they deliver it?  Yes, but they would need to take it apart.  Debra saw the tears in Dennis' eyes ..... They wouldn't have to take it all apart! Joy again ..... And now the angel Debra says, "Maybe we can give you a reduction on the (already assembled and in perfect condition) floor model.. it was getting better ..... Yup, 10% off! 

"Delivery?"  "Yes, they would deliver it the next day ..... (Are you sure this is Guyana?) .....  and it is included in the price."   Now it was my turn to shed a tear, a helpless male before the beautiful youndg woman ..... "Do you think the delivery guys might be able to put it up?  Both of us went to school for too long and never learned anything practical."   (I offered to send testimonials from my children on my capacity to make two dozen trips to Canadian Tire for one leaky toilet repair ..... it might include a whole new toilet after it cracked for some unknown reason.)  Debra wasn't sure but she would ask the delivery man.  They held it for us and we returned the next day and paid and the unit got delivered the following day .....  

The two delivery guys met Dennis at St. Ann's (one of us had to teach, eh?), and they not only carried into the back of St Ann's where the playground is, but even filled the base with water to counterbalance the weight ..... especially in case Dennis was tempted to pull one of his from-the-foul-line Michael Jordan dunks.     He did help them by finding a funnel for the water and took some great pics .....  And they did all the extra, not because we were so persuasive but, as the  delivery man said, "This is for the girls at St. Ann's."

I sometimes pick on the "Just Now" time it takes to accomplish anything in Guyana; okay:  I do it all the time. So when I come on such an experience of great customer service and super-fast purchasing and delivery, I need to share these people with you...  So if you need something when you are in GT, go see Debra and tell her you are friends with Rev 1 and Rev 2.

Was it Worth it? You Tell Us...

Thank you, Dennis and his friends who funded this ..... You made the smiles happen.

And Even Better.. They Let the Boys Play

And please don't ask: modesty prevents me from disclosing who had the most baskets....

Way More Stories, But Enough

Lots of other stuff happened this week, so just look at the slide show...  and I'll mention a few really important ones next week ..... so stay tuned.   Amazingly, it will be my last one from Guyana this year ..... Dennis will do one after we get home.

So we went out to celebrate at the Everest Cricket Club,
where they remembered the Pink Umbrellas for Dennis.