Beyond That Horizon

Speaking of Jeff, the crazy Pohnpeian – we had a party one time. It was just a get-together with potluck and games. Jeff was assigned to bring some pork. He said that would be no problem. The day of the party, he carried in a large pot full of great tasting shredded pork cooked to perfection. I would have had seconds or thirds if there had been any left.

After eating, Jeff came up to me with that cheesy grin that never left his face. He said he had a new invention and he wanted to show me after the party. I said ok and wondered for the rest of the activity what he was up to this time. By the time the party ended, my curiosity was just about to explode.

Jeff was excited as we went to his house. He lived in a fairly decent plywood hut on the edge of the lagoon. It was a very efficient place as many homes were in that particular area of the island. Their bathrooms, or banjos, as they were called were built right over the water. Thus, all their waste got flushed out to sea every time the tide went out – Mother Nature’s way of flushing the toilet, I guess.

Anyway, Jeff took me and Pita over to his pig pen. In the pen was a three-legged pig that was doing pretty well hobbling around doing what pigs do. Jeff was so proud of himself, explaining that he could not kill the whole pig and keep it from rotting right now. So, he cut the pig’s leg off and burnt the exposed flesh so the pig would not bleed to death. Thus, he was able to prepare pork for the party and still keep his pig alive.

Being from Idaho, I had seen many forms and methods of animal husbandry, but this was something that took me by surprise. I felt sickened, but after pondering, realized that this small island was far from the bastion of animal care viewed by folks in the US and many other parts of the civilized world. To Jeff, it was an efficient way to keep his food alive until he could process it all, but still enjoy some great tasting meat in the interim.