Random People

We’re on our way back to Texas after our circumnavigation of the Florida Peninsula and Paula is driving so I’m taking this opportunity to write a bit. I usually do this around 4 AM, but today is a “Travel Day” which means that we start a bit earlier.

          One of the wonderful things about this mode of travel and lifestyle is meeting other people along the way. I know that we all meet folks in our daily lives, and this is not to disparage any of those relationships, or to insinuate that the only way to meet interesting people is to travel.

          What does happen is that the people that we meet are, by and large, not from “around here,” they are usually from “somewhere else.”        This makes for interesting conversations because one immediately tries to establish some common ground to talk about and in our case (and most others doing this) it involves Travel, and where we’ve been, and/or going.

          This exercise has the potential for coming across as “Can you top this,” but it’s all good-natured and most of the time we’ve gleaned good, solid information about places that we’re looking to go to, and in turn, were able to assist others going to places that we’ve been to.

          So there we were in the pool at the KOA last week.

          It’s not hard to start a conversation with random adults who are standing in five feet of crystal clear, nicely warmed, vacation water.         Soon you find yourself divulging deep, dark, family secrets because you know that you’ll probably never see these water-logged specimens again!

          Anyway, we met a couple from Fairbury, Illinois. They own a specific-to-trades hardware store. It’s a family-run business so right there we had something in common. It turns out that they are part of the Harvest Hosts program that we belong to. To you new readers, this is an organization that places like wineries, breweries, farms, and businesses, belong to. These people open up their parking spots for a few RV’ s each night. No services, just a parking spot, but it beats the random Walmart mostly because its usually interesting and we are always assured of a hearty welcome there.

          We explained our plans for the upcoming summer and eventual return to Texas in the fall. It turns out that we can pass right by their establishment on our way to St. Louis in September.

          It will be fun to give them a call and say, “Hey! Remember us from the KOA pool?”

           I’m sure that we’ll receive a glorious welcome!

          We also met a few of Paula’s relatives that she had not seen in a long time, and for some of these long-lost relations, that time span was almost 25 years. To say that the reunions were joyful would be an understatement!

          For me, this was the first time that I had met most of them. While Paula and her nieces caught up with each other, it left the girls spouses, just wanting a conversation with another guy (me!).

          This is the ‘Random” part that I alluded to earlier. There is just no way that these guys and me would have ever gotten together. After meeting them, I can definitely imagine being friends with them if we had lived there and I look forward to another visit in the future.

          I’m sure that it will be in less than 25 years!

          My first example of common ground involves my keen observational skills. One of the guys and his boys, were wearing Star Wars tee shirts.

          Ok, now I see my opportunity.

          “Love the shirts guys!”

          “Yea, we love ‘em too, we’re big Star Wars fans!

          Hah! Now I’ve got them. I know for a fact that my next statement will be met with ‘oohs and ahhs’ after I deliver it.

          “Me too, I’ve seen the original or what’s now referred to as “A new Hope – Star Wars IV, well over 250 times!

          I received the reaction that I was expecting, and the sense of reverence that accompanies this revelation.

          We’re on!

          What I did not expect was the drill-down on all of the latest Star Wars spin-offs, books, etc. These guys were good! We parried back and forth,  and I held my own on some of the examples like Bobba Fett and The Mandalorian, but after that I was completely outclassed!

          John and the Boys 1……  Don, 0.

          Where you are sitting at the table either lends itself, or constrains oneself, in the conversation department. While I was able to have that meaningful trouncing at the hands of the Star Wars Extreme Fan Club, John’s cousin-in-law, Robert, was down at the other end of the table. Seeking a way to draw him into the conversation, I listened for some hints when he spoke. Soon I heard the word “Hanger.”

                    I sensed an opening.

                    “Robert, are you in aviation?”

                   “Nah, we just have a helicopter at work. I’m with the county mosquito control  commission. We’ve got the chopper, some ATV’s and an air boat.”

          Still too far away and not wanting to try and talk across the girls and their reminiscing, I filed this away for after the meal. He had said the magic word, Airboat!  I’ve wanted one of these babies since seeing and I had a chance to flesh out our conversation.one back on the old mid 60’s TV series, Flipper, which was coincidently shot here in Florida.

          After lunch we went out on the coolest deck I’ve ever seen at a restaurant. It was here that Robert and I had a chance to flesh out our conversation. I learned tons about mosquitos (the ultimate bane of my existence) and all the specialized equipment that they use to battle the little bastards.

                Guess where the very first mosquito control program was in the Country?

          Nope!

          Wrong again!

          Yup! New Jersey! The Meadowlands!

          We probably would frown on their (non-environmentally friendly) tactics these days but it was a start.

          So, this restaurant, The River Grille, had probably the best outdoor set-up of any place that I’ve seen. Various levels, bar areas, open, covered, umbrellaed, built around large trees coming through the deck, I could just imagine this place when it was really hopping!

          There was a large dock area for boats to pull up to and for the landlubbers to go down to and feed the aquatic critters. They also had a few fun signs down there.

          One read,

                             No Shoes?

                             No Shirt?

                             Problem!

          This one was my favorite, apparently they need to remind the somewhat inebriated folks of this…..

          Oh.. and the food was really good too!

          The previous day we met up with another group of nieces, nephews, and Paula’s sister-in-law. Again, I had met a few of these fine folks a while ago but only briefly. Face Book has done a wonderful job of keeping people together and somewhat apprised of the goings-on in a person’s life, but you have to admit that there is no substitute for an in-person get-together and a chance to actually hug someone! We had a down-home good ‘ole spaghetti dinner which, of course, was delicious.

          We met again the next morning for breakfast at Cracker Barrel for another non-dietetic meal  😊

          It was at this table that I was able to sit next to Jerry, who had not been at the dinner the night before. Jerry is one of those people that you never forget, for all the right reasons.

          Again, a “guy-type” conversion ensued. I can hold my own with topics on cars, bikes, aircraft, history, and a myriad of other innocuous topics, but Jerry took all of this to a new level with his experiences.

          Jerry was an Army Ranger and as such is ‘Jump Certified.”  (Jerry, if you are reading this, I would like to thank you for your Service, I am sorry that I did not think to thank you in person)

          Jerry belongs to a group of guys that jump from a venerable, old, C-47 named the Tico Belle, that actually saw action over Normandy on D-Day and still has some bullet holes memorialized and preserved in her. Jerry showed me a video clip from their last jump. I thought that I was watching an old war movie, the guys all standing up, clipped to the static line, with the Jumpmaster standing in front of the barking orders and gesturing to them when the time came to exit the aircraft . In what seemed like a split second all ten of the guys were gone.

          Looking out of the plane, down and to the rear, you could see the chutes opening and the line of jumpers trailing each other downward.

          And they used the old-school types of chutes, the big, round, mushroom shaped ones. It was about as authentic as it gets.

          We had a great conversation about old war birds, I was able to recount my flight on an old B-17 with my grandson, and the time that I flew an AT-6 for an hour.

          The best part of watching Jerry was how he treated others. He is a disciple (a good word here) of Judo and all of the philosophies and traditions that it adheres to. I am not an expert on the topic of martial arts by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know that they propound to exemplify control, respect, and a host of other benefits. I observed Jerry personify his religion in his interactions with all of us. To the untrained eye, he would just appear courteous, but after listening to him speak about what he does, I could then see where all of his actions stemmed from.

          It was a pleasure to witness Jerry and it does give one pause to realize how we all conduct ourselves in our daily lives.

          Thanks for indulging me on this topic of “Random Acquaintances,”

          I am really looking forward to the next person that I haven’t met yet, who may have an impact on my life!