Yesterday, I rode to Great Falls with my brother-in-law, Tony, to ship three balikbayan boxes to a destination in the Philippines. Tony will be boarding a plane later this week and flying to the same destination.
For those of you unfamiliar,
the
compound word “balik-bayan” means a return to the country. The corrugated boxes are typically stuffed full
of items sent home to the Philippines by Filipinos. They are transported (sometimes taking many
months for travel) by way of cargo ships and are sent for flat rate if weighing
120 pounds or less.
The boxes may hold almost anything
(firearms, illicit drugs, and a few other items are not allowed) and most items
arrive duty-free if the boxes have been shipped home by Filipinos living overseas.
After dropping off the boxes,
we stopped at a small eatery for lunch. Following
our meal, we discovered Tony had locked us out of his truck. After something a little less than an hour of
waiting, a man dispatched by AAA broke into Tony’s truck in less than 2
minutes.
Surpassingly satisfying, that!
By mid-afternoon, we were back
at my house and experiencing a full half-hour of spring weather.
—Mitchell Hegman
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