Crazy Leadership/SLAGI

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.

-Dave Barry

This phrase is an apt description of Bob and I. When trouble arises, we are sure to be close by suggesting solutions. Sometimes we come across as bossy, sometimes crazy and every once in a while our behavior is actually heroic.

For example, Bob has saved several people from drowning. Thats heroic. He has also tried to grab people crossing the street in big cities because he thought they were going to be hit by a car. That comes across as crazy (even when its heroic). He will not start the car until everyone has their seatbelt on. Thats bossy.

I'm going to tell you the story of one troubling situation we found ourselves in and you can decide if Bob reacted in a way that was bossy, crazy or heroic.

We had just spent an entire day shopping at different little villages in the mountains of Ecuador. Being adventuresome, we took local buses from Quito and then to each little pueblo that we wanted to visit. Bob and I both got leather jackets for less than $40 and I bought a bunch of leather purses to gift.

The sun was setting when we boarded the bus to return to Quito. 10 year old Rebecca sat next to me on the bus and began pulling everything out of the bags so we could admire our purchases and thriftyness. We did not notice when two men boarded the bus and sat down directly behind us.

Marine Bob had his eye on everything, so he noticed. He noticed because it appeared they gun shaped bulges in their clothing. So he was not surprised when, after the bus left the station, they pulled out bullets intending to load those guns.

Bob stood up and shoved something in the pocket of his new leather jacket that made it look like he had a gun too. Then he went and talked to the kid who takes pasaje (fares) on the bus to warn him about potential hijackers. About then I began to notice that Bob wa

s looking a little intense but I could not break away from the conversation I was having with Rebecca about who would get which purse.

In the nonconfrontive way of the Quichua people who reside in the mountains of Ecuador, the kid approached the men with the guns and asked them where they wanted to get off. The men said the name of a city and kid said, "we are not going there, maybe you should get off the bus". The gun men mentioned another city and the kid again insisted the bus would not go there either and would they please exit the bus. About then the bus stopped and the kid, with Bob towering menacingly behind him, hand with fake gun in pocket, very kindl

y insisted the robbers exit because they bus could not take them where they needed to go.

Amazingly enough the gun men got off the bus and then stood and stared, hands in pockets, as the bus pulled away.

At a safe distance, Bob pulled his hand out of his pocket and blew on his finger as though it were a smoking gun. I then got a thorough scolding for speaking English too l

oud and for drawing too much attention to ourselves as Americans (I'm sure our blond 7 year old went completely unnoticed, I said sarcastically).

It took me days to fully understand what happened. When I did, I realized we probably narrowly escaped an armed robbery on a lonely patch of road high in the Andes. The entire adventure Seemed Like A Good Idea, but it would have ended very badly had it not been for my bossy, crazy, heroic husband.