Archie, the CEO of Urwego Opportunity Bank, called me into his office yesterday morning. Getting called into the CEO's office isn't frightening...at least for me. I'm not getting paid, so I have no fear of being sacked. Also, Archie's got a quick wit and a bundle of good stories. He is a Scot who has lived all over the world, running banks, logging institutions or managing the production of vanilla beans. But mostly banking. I'm not sure if he just financed the other things through banking. Archie was actually enjoying retirement in Scotland with his family when Opportunity International (the non-governmental organization with the largest ownership share in Urwego), asked him to come to Kigali, Rwanda to CEO the bank. He has more experience in retail banking (and living in Africa...which many can never adjust too), than anyone who has ever been at this bank. Thankfully, he accepted the short term assignment.

Archie's wife, Jenny, comes to visit in late October. She sounds like a fun and fiesty woman. I've heard stories about her jumping into a waterfall, fully clothed, to save a drowning Congolese man when they live in Zaire (now Congo). And she did it again...this time dressed for a tea party hosted by someone like the grand commissioner's wife (not sure what that is) to save some screaming mother's child. The child had fallen into the swimming pool next to their sortie. I've heard about Jenny's cooking...she's a professional chef(fess?).

Well, back to being called into the office. Archie very much liked the bit about eloping three posts ago. Scotland, he told me, had built up an entire industry around eloping. At one point, you couldn't marry without parental consent until 21 in England. Scotland was much more slack, requiring only 16 years and something like 3 days of residence. There has been much Eloping at Gretna Green, where an anxious young couple may be married over the anvil by a blacksmith, while they where being chased by a furious father.