Thursday, June 29, 2017

Privy On Stilts

The photo is an unusual one, of something that no longer exists: in the background, a privy on stilts, in the Gilbert Islands. These were perched high above lagoons, and were accessed by balancing on logs. I needed to learn as a young boy how to use these houses. The memory is sharp. OBSERVATION: One of my playmates slipped on the logs and was killed. In the foreground, islanders are processing copra -- used to make margarine, coconut oil, and fodder, among other things. It is  curiously classed as "dangerous goods" because it spontaneously combusts.

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