Lunch at Stax began unremarkable. This is the oasis of civility in a nice but definitely third world town. A nice lunch for two costs about five US dollars total. It was our fifth time there.

We'd branched out from our usual pizza and veggie burger selections and had just begun eating when it began.

The screaming. My God the screaming.

It seems a woman had come to the carryout counter to beg for scraps. When told nothing was available, she began to scream.

"It sounded like it came from a movie."
Think of the loudest, most piercing temper tantrum you've ever heard from a two-year-old. Scream. Inhale. Scream. Inhale. Scream. Repeat. Now shift it down an octave and crank up the volume to the adult level and you've just about got it. It sounded like it came from a movie. If there were sound effects for Munch's The Scream, this would be it. It was deafening and haunting.

At first we had no idea what was going on. She was just outside the door and out of sight. I thought it might be a situation we could need to remove ourselves from with haste, but no one around us seemed concerned... or even to notice. A local white guy seated closest to the woman even got out his cell phone so a friend could hear and giggle at the commotion.

"I would never guess human vocal chords could do this."
And it continued. Every breath, every bit as loud as the first. For fifteen minutes we sat eating, trying to ignore it like everyone else, as Dean Martin's Volare on the restaurant stereo could just be heard mingling with the painful wailing. I would never have guessed human vocal chords could stand up to this.

Then she entered the restaurant and approached our table. This is when it got a little scary, as we were sitting just by the door. Heading for twenty minutes of continuous screaming, she stood a few feet from our table as the waitstaff and security surrounded her by dared not touch her. The owner's toddler crawled crying into a corner and knocked over a potted plant. It was something of a standoff for a few minutes as the screaming went on.

"Perhaps we should duck."
Then the owner said, "take her out." I was a little worried at exactly what "taking her out" would entail. Perhaps we should duck. The security guy wrestled her out the door and locked it behind him. Still the screaming continued as she stood hollering just outside the glass door.

We finished eating as quickly paid as we approached thirty minutes of non-stop screaming. We were told food had been offered to no avail. We would have to exit the restaurant directly in front of her. And under the eye of a security guard with a big stick, we did so... trying to ignore her as well as the other customers were able.