Joy playing inigo montoya

I remember the night before leaving Madagascar in 2002.  I was exhausted from illness and also all the work of getting sorted and packed and organised and my colleague moved to another house.  Our dear Malagasy friends came to visit and little Joy, who is a boy, was three then.  He had a stick and was playing on the stairs outside, the role of inigo montoya from The Princess Bride... one of his favourite movies.  It was great to watch him.  This isn't him, but it reminds me of him.

That night his father, a very dear friend, asked me the question... "Is it harder to be the one who leaves, or the one who is left?"  They knew I wasn't coming back there to work.  I think I answered that it can be harder to be the one who is left, knowing that I was going on to something new.... hopefully a journey to better health, and they were going to miss me deeply.  10 years later, we still keep in touch, but mostly through my colleague who is still working there.

"My name is inigo montoya, prepare to die"  Go joy... you are 13 now and I still see you in every 3 year old boy I meet!