I dropped off my pack and sprinted over to see Tam. His door at the end of the alley was locked and bolted, a heavy chain wrapped around the knob. Inside were my duffel bag, my traveler's checks, film, spare cash and plane ticket - everything I need to survive... and get home.

My impetuous arrival had created a stir among the alley's doorstep-sitters. I was soon surrounded by a silent crowd of Tam's neighbors. Eventually his niece stepped forward and gestured to the bolted door. "He's gone," she said. "To America."

I was thrilled by his good fortune and appalled that my checks and all my money might have gone with him, leaving me temporarily as poor as the silent faces around me. I waited anxiously while the key was fetched and the rusty chain undone, and stepped inside to face my own unfounded suspicions. It was all there, with an apologetic note on top. He was sorry that he would not be here to greet me but his name had come up...

And I was sorry to have so little faith in a trustworthy friend. I wished him Godspeed in the land of computers and bright yellow taxicabs.

NEW LIFE