20 years is a long time
Two decades have passed, but I can still remember that very day. In August 2005 I had bought the Mazda for Diospi Suyana in Lima. The drive from the capital to Curahuasi took 15 hours and the long journey in the moonlight left me with a homely feeling. The roads back then were empty and peaceful. And although I was driving alone, I didn’t get tired. Ten – or was it fifteen music CDs – kept me wide awake.
224,000 kilometers various drivers maneuvered the pickup from one construction site to another on behalf of Diospi Suyana. At night, chauffeurs picked up our doctors, nurses and laboratory staff at their front doors on an emergency basis. In the Mazda, of course. Now the engine has given up the ghost and – at least in Peru – there is no replacement. So the moment to say goodbye is approaching.
A strange feeling. Hundreds of short- and long-term employees were on the move. But the battered all-purpose trolley always remained in use. Unfortunately, no object lasts forever in this world. And the vehicle illustrates once again that we ourselves have become 20 years older. I’m not a bit melancholy, but the little tear in my eye is entirely appropriate.
Looking back, we thank God that no one from our team was injured in this vehicle as a result of an accident. The white van is now nearing the end of its mission. Then it can rest and rust in peace. And the day will come when each of us will have completed our life’s work. When, where and how that will be, only God knows.
