The Chicken Man is Found!

I found him this week, the Chicken Man. AND his wife is back in the shop helping him.

I wrote just a few days ago that I had lost him but yesterday as we walked up Refugio to get some artwork framed we passed the corner where I turned to go to his Tienda and I was lamenting his disappearence. But lo and behold, just past the corner on Refugio, there was an open door. No signs. I looked in because I didn't remember a shop there. And there he was in a much bigger shop with plenty of room for his vegetables.

We walked in and I almost hugged him I was so glad that he was still here in the neighborhood. Ned told him that I thought he had closed his tienda. He looked at me like I was a little crazy. No! Of course he had not closed up shop. He just moved around the corner. How was I suppose to know that. There was no sign on the old shop to tell customers he had moved but I guess everyone had local knowledge but me.

Today,I went up Refugio to buy chicken. I reviewed my vocabulary so that I could try out my Spanish. Several days ago, I had asked my tutor how to say what I wanted when buying chickens rather than saying a few words and using a lot of hand gestures.

"Dos pollos, por favor. Apartido en piezas. Pero, quiero la pechuga sin hueso y aplanado."

Now that might not be perfect Spanish but I thought it would get me what I wanted. The Chicken Lady (he was off on an errand) started pulling pieces of chicken out of the freezer.

"No, no, Pollos entero, por favor."

Finally I figured out that she was telling me that they are cutting the chickens up when they come in and she would get me enough pieces to make two whole chickens.

She pounded out the chicken breasts and started putting my purchase in a bolsa.

"Por favor, el hueso tambien. Mi esposa le gusta sopa."

By this time another lady was waiting in the shop to buy some chicken. Whether the Spanish was totally correct or not they looked at each other and smiled.

The Chicken Lady said, "Si, si, sopa" and she put the carcass from the breast in the bolsa.

I think I had connected with them woman-to-woman. I had a husband that liked soup.