Birds, pasta a la swiss army, and other things

Why, why, why is it that wherever I am in the world the injured, sick, and otherwise disabled of the bird world find me? Yesterday in the evening the maids brought in an injured dove that had fallen into the garden -- the result of a slingshot or some such device that ought to be turned on its little wielders. So we brushed him off, gave him a little bread and water and set him up to pass the night relatively comfortably, if not happily. The little guy is strong -- he survived the night and is energetic this morning -- and so I think we might be able to rehabilitate him (or her, for that matter) given a week or two. So, I´m off to hunt for a cage this morning and whatever additional accoutrements one needs for dove rehabilitation. I think Don Raul will help me and will probably know best how to go about things. On other fronts the pasta turned out nicely, even if it did take the water a decade to boil and I had to use the swiss army knife to open the wine and later a can. Things were a bit dicey on the wine front, but luckily the cork wasn´t all that big or long, so I managed to not damage the wine or myself. Cooked up a nice pasta with garlic bread and then invited Mercedes and Isabel, the maid in charge of laundry and her very bright and sweet 7 year old daughter, to join me for dinner. Mercedes is kind. She arrives early and stays very late and works extremely hard and little Isabel is always quietly out of the way somewhere playing or doing her homework -- usually I see the tips of her shoes before I see her. They felt comfortable enough to join me I think because the Don and Dona were out of town and so there we were on the steps with our pasta and our wine. I am now a hit with little Isabel. I think it was one of the most enjoyable evenings I´ve had since I´ve been in Sucre. Am still reading -- now a history of the NAACP litigation strategy and as I´m working through things, I´m beginning to realize Bo is going to be a bit more challenging than expected and very much the least similar case. Finally mustered the right psychological state to go back to the tailor and it looks like something resembling a suit will be ready for me on Thursday. Suggestions for dove names? BT