Balancing Act

As kids, many of us messed around trying to have perfect posture by balancing a book on top of our heads. I used to think the Chiquita banana lady had a tough gig, but the people in Haiti put her to shame! You can find Haitian women and men walking miles with a variety of objects on their heads. They aren’t walking like a trapeze artist; you know, nice and slow, one foot in front of the other. Instead they look straight ahead, side to side, chatting to friends. They must be confident in their skills because they don’t even keep their hands open as a backup to catch the items. Instead they are carrying bags in their hands, talking on their cell phones or eating an apple and some sugar cane. If you didn’t look past their forehead, you would be completely unaware of the load they had above.

What they were carrying on their heads was sometimes the most impressive part of it all. Initially, I saw them walk with bundles of straw, large bowls full of fruit, or empty plastic water bottles-typically the five galloon size. But every time you saw somebody new they had outdone the previous person. For example, I saw a woman strolling along with a huge red cooler on top of her head. And a few minutes later there was a man who had balanced five chairs on his head. The seats of the chairs were stacked on his scalp, and he was then encircled by the legs and back of the chair.

My favorite would have to be when a woman was carrying a stack of crates full of raw eggs, she was not phased by the fact that one foul move could result in disaster, yolk and egg white everywhere. She powered ahead, and just a few feet behind her was another woman with a container full of LIVE CHICKENS. Yes, I think there were about four or five, making noise, but staying in their respective places. I took a double take, but there was no denying that she was commuting with livestock on her head. She won!