U.S. currency invokes “trust” in God, but my mango purchase in the open market this week taught me how fears can corrode faith, even in basic business transactions.
We’re on the tail end of the mango season here, but diligent searching can still bring delicious rewards. After lunch the other day, I was on the lookout for mangoes as I meandered through the market back to Viña Studios.
Turning aside from the usual path through the market, I spotted an old Kaqchikel woman with a small basket of passable mangos. We negotiated briefly, as is customary, and agreed on a price: four medium, spotty mangos for five quetzales (about 65 cents).
Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything but a 100 quetzal bill (about $13). She said she had change for it, but first she set about inspecting the bill’s authenticity, holding it up to the sun to view its watermark, rubbing its texture and studying its details. As a man passed by she asked his opinion. As they talked and studied it, I felt a surge of annoyance but told myself I would just “sit back and watch” to see what would transpire. He took out one of his own for comparison, pronouncing it authentic. I asked him how to identify a counterfeit bill. “By the feel,” he said. “They’re smooth.”
Despite his assurances, she wasn’t convinced, shaking her head. She turned to two nearby Kaqchikel women, asking them to look it over. They felt it, studied it and shook their heads. A pronouncement of doom. By now, most of the dozen to 20 people nearby had taken notice of the spectacle and were watching to see what would happen. (A friend told me later that locals suspect outsiders’ money because we could more easily bring in counterfeit bills from elsewhere.)
After the women made their assessment, a muscular young Mayan man in a tight, black T-shirt strode toward us, followed by about eight other guys. “She doesn’t want it,” I said, joking. “Perhaps, she just wants to give me these as a gift.” Smiling, the man took the bill in his hands and pulled out one of his own: a crisp, clean bill for comparison. As the men crowded around, looking at it, feeling it and holding it up toward the sun, the woman sat down. The men began to tease her, saying, “You’re asleep. It’s real. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re asleep.”
She began to shrug with a meek look on her face, feeling embarrassment at the men’s joking. Finally, at least five minutes after we had agreed on our price, she gave me my change and I went happily on my way.
Do you know whether you have the real thing?
The Apostle John wrote,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life — the life was manifested and we have seen, and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ,” I John 1:1-3.
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