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Thursday, May 14, 2015

As the world turns...

Meet Lizzie and Jennie,  friends from Kent, England, and Vancouver, Washington, vacationing together on the Southern Oregon Coast, on the path to the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, Oregon. They came up a walking path as my husband and I were walking toward them, having a loud argument, as our eyes kept a look on the pavement, trying to avoid the ups and down of a foot path that was not too safe for older folks like us. I was complaining that the red paint indicating the uneven pavement did nothing to prevent falls. "I'd have to keep my eyes glued to the floor!" I was arguing, frustrated that nobody had thought about smoothing the path and throwing wood chips over it to soften the blow of a fall.

The ladies said hi, and "peace today", as they passed us. We apologized for our loudness. Their smiles never left their face; they bubbled a few remarks about going south after that walk, and we recommended they stop in Port Orford and eat at Redfish. We took each others' pictures. We teased them about their last election in Great Britain.

A world apart, they in matching red coats and bright smiles; we, still trying to find a path of mutual understanding after their arrival had stopped the arguing.

They were on their way to California.
We had left California to retire in Oregon.

We could have told them of all the treacherous road conditions they might encounter on their way down. But then, we would have spoiled their enthusiasm. We actually did spoil their enthusiasm when we mentioned they should stop at Cape Blanco where they might meet migrating whales . One of them was holding that thought as a surprise for the other.





8 comments:

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Fascinating how very different lives intersect for a moment and how we can impact each other in so many ways.

joeh said...

Spoiled the surprise, but at least they won't miss whale watching.

Marty said...

Still, I'm sure you were all four the better for the encounter.

the walking man said...

It's kind of hard to understand why there is a walking path that few can be comfortable waking on. Do you walk with a stout stick Rosaria?

The Broad said...

Lovely how human interaction can come upon us -- like a part of nature ...

yaya said...

It's fun when folks that nice pass your way! I love meeting people from other countries too...and I always hope they encounter good people like you so they can have a nice impression of America. I've been walking in the cemetery because it's smooth, wide, quiet and it's a beautiful cemetery and I enjoy reading headstones..when I'm not walking! The sidewalks around town are too uneven and I don't want to smash up my new knees! I hope you have a good, safe weekend!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Rosaria - I hope they took your advice and they had a tale to tell their families ... about their stop off point ..

Sidewalks/Pavements can be worrying ... take care and I'm popping by after the crazy A-Z .. and another project I took on board ... so for now -

cheers Hilary

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