James Bruzzi
Haiti Team Member
Haiti Team Member
In the front courtyard of the Hopital St. Croix in Leogane, Haiti, there is a small patch of grass with three coconut palms towering over it. On the grass sits a chair.
On first arriving in Haiti, I glanced at this chair in disgust. It is a tall and ugly chair, crudely constructed of what appears to be scrap wood and painted in the unflattering turquoise of the main hospital building. In general, this chair appears to be completely unsafe and is unpleasant to look at.
Knowing that David and Jeanne Paige were familiar with the compound from their previous visits to Leogane, I mentioned this chair to them. They told me that this throne had formerly been located across the street and had been moved into the courtyard when its proprietor had landed a security position within the hospital clinic.
On first arriving in Haiti, I glanced at this chair in disgust. It is a tall and ugly chair, crudely constructed of what appears to be scrap wood and painted in the unflattering turquoise of the main hospital building. In general, this chair appears to be completely unsafe and is unpleasant to look at.
Knowing that David and Jeanne Paige were familiar with the compound from their previous visits to Leogane, I mentioned this chair to them. They told me that this throne had formerly been located across the street and had been moved into the courtyard when its proprietor had landed a security position within the hospital clinic.
On my next visit to the courtyard, I found this chair occupied by a very tall and very thin man who introduced himself as Woody. With a sweeping gesture over the grass under the coconut palms, he welcomed me to his “plage” or beach. I chuckled in my head at this idea, Woody in his lifeguard chair keeping watch over his plage in the middle of what amounts to the hospital parking lot.
Over the rest of my time in Leogane I formed an unlikely friendship with Woody on his beach. Through a combination of bits of Creole, French and English, translator apps and photos on my smartphone I got to know a little about Woody’s life; and he got to know a little about mine. We talked about our families, and we chased stray chickens. The other team members would await updates on Woody, and I would find myself checking out the window to see if he was out sitting in his chair.
Preparing to depart for the airport, we gathered in the courtyard in front of the plage. There sat the empty chair. I took one last long look at it and smiled. It is a beautiful chair, carefully constructed by hand and fully functional. It is an interesting chair with an interesting story and an even more interesting occupant. Woody and his chair remain one of my fondest recollections of my time in Leogane.
Preparing to depart for the airport, we gathered in the courtyard in front of the plage. There sat the empty chair. I took one last long look at it and smiled. It is a beautiful chair, carefully constructed by hand and fully functional. It is an interesting chair with an interesting story and an even more interesting occupant. Woody and his chair remain one of my fondest recollections of my time in Leogane.
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