Cairo has what seems like an endless number of blah brown brick 5 to 20+ story buildings where the 20 million live. On the outside of these giants are so many balconies and at first I thought, how nice to have someplace to get fresh air, see the sky & feel the sun. But after being here over a month, I 've only seen people on their balconies 3 times...my favorites was a young man tenderly holding a small baby. It's funny how moments like that can glow in your memory.
Another warm time was while we were in a taxi...traffic was heavy, as usual & the driver spoke more English than most (usually less than 10 words). While we waited in a traffic jam, we asked our driver about his family. His face lit up instantly as he said several times, "I love my children!" He pulled out his phone and showed us pictures of his six kids...until he had to drive on...but at the next traffic jam...he repeated "I love my children..and I will have one more soon" and showed us more pictures.
We asked him about how much of the day he had to drive—7 am to 9 or 10 pm. And how many days—-oh, everyday...everyday.
We'd arrived at our destination, tipped him heavily & handed him balloons for his children as he drove off.
A loving dad...who worked 14+ hours every day. We wondered when he had time to give his kids all the love he had for them?!?
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