What do you regret more? The bad you have done or the good that you know you should have done but didn’t? In crossing Mexico an “opportunity lost” occurred on the Veracruz zocalo. It was mid morning, and I was sitting on a bench sunning myself and people watching, the most popular pastime on the zocalo for last several centuries.  There were many people about; the shoeshine kid, numerous vendors selling their wares, jovenes doing what jovenes do, maybe even a gringo or two, but the focus of my gaze was a young woman by the stage.  She was resting her arms on the stage and crying.  Her niño must have been 3 or 4 and was running loose with no regard to his mother’s state. She was an attractive girl, probably early twenties and near hysterical. She would take two or three sidesteps to the left, then to the right while leaning on the stage and then she would look into the air as if there was some help there if she could just find it. She was clearly not in control of her emotions, this was no show, she was the picture of DESPAIR. I seemed to be the only one who took notice of her. What was the problem?  I wanted to know so bad. I wanted to fix it if I could. If I couldn’t fix it, maybe I know someone who could.  Maybe just a sympathetic ear would help.  But I didn’t do anything. So we will never know. 

A similar situation presented itself weeks later on “otro lada de la bahia”. Underneath the big smile and animated persona there was a tension, a desperation. I went fishing for the problem. With nothing to lose, the sad story was divulged.  I saw flashes of anger as betrayal and broken promises were recounted.  As the tale was told she was reminded afresh of her predicament and the hopelessness of it. Tears welled in her eyes as she concluded with the words, “I have a hard life”.  She was willing, even hoping, to leave everything familiar and go North into the unknown in search of a better life. I dismissed myself to my room to escape the heavy air, but the sorrow followed me there. Now I was a part of the story…..what role should the gringo play?