KDurant7 blog adventures

How the undercover cops test you

This is a story about when I traveled to Trinidad in Bolivia, South America. I often carried my guitar when I would go visit an orphanage, or a hospital, or a jail so I could sing to them songs and make them happy. I always carried my guitar in the case everywhere I would go. As I was walking down the street one morning a man came up to me and he said oh, do you play guitar? and I answered emphatically, yes, I do! He said oh, I play guitar too, can I see your guitar so I can play something, and I said sure. So, I opened the case and he looked at the guitar very intensely and looked all inside of it and the case and he held the guitar and strummed a couple of chords but he couldn’t really play. I said oh, why are you so curious and he said Well, it’s unusual that you being a gringo are walking around with a case in our city that could hold a big gun. Oh, I replied, well, no, I don’t have any guns I’m here to preach the gospel. He then walked away satisfied, and I left thinking, wow, I wonder have there been other gringos here with guns? I am in the middle of the jungle where some of the drug trade happens. I considered that experience to be one of understanding the mentality that some authorities have as they distrust you when you are from a different country and race. I got stopped many dozens of times after that, even without a guitar, the officials get very curious as to why one would want to be in their country playing guitar and talking about Jesus. It is insanity for some folks, it is mind boggling for them!