Karen village, Northern Thailand 8888

The morning was late and bright and dusty.
I had arrived the night before after a 20k hike.
"Hungry?" the head man asked.
There were 50 faces waiting for my answer.
Not a pig or chicken in sight I thought of the can of spam in my pack.
"Yes" I nodded my head not wanting to insult my host.
He walked into a dark hut, returning he showed me a rifle and four bullets in his scarred hand.
I nodded my head again and he walked into the forest.
As I helped to build a fire, the women started a small pot of rice cooking.
In the span of two hours we heard 4 rifle shots.
The birds were iridescent greens, yellows and blues.
He tossed them to the children.
They, squealing with excitement plucked the birds to the skin.
There were smiles all around as we ate.
Later, after washing at the creek the head man and I sat poking at the fire,
passing the pipe back and forth late into the night.