Mini-Rant: Pooper Scooper Service Wanted

I spend lots of time looking down at my feet here in Guatemala. Many of you know I don’t have the best sense of balance in the world. In Antigua, sidewalks are at all different levels—you are constantly stepping up and down—and if you don’t pay attention, you’ll trip. In addition, you have to keep an eye out for these concrete windows that are built out into the sidewalk space—they all have iron bars—and they are all about should height. If you aren’t careful, you can walk right into one of them.

In San Miguel Escobar, it’s less about uneven concrete on the streets or cobblestone and more about avoiding dog and horse poop. This is a farming town with loads of stray dogs that do their business everywhere. We have a dog that marks our door. At least it’s only one dog.

And then, of course, there’s horse/mule poop. Trying to avoid stepping in this stuff is like trying to avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk in New York City. In essence, very difficult.

As a current resident, I would approve a tax that appropriated money for a town-wide weekly pooper scooper service. But, let’s be real. Most folks here are trying to get both running water and electricity, a flush toilet or concrete walls if they are lucky.