Amazing, Huh…?
An unexpected text message appeared on my smart phone, and... Yep, a very nice surprise resulted from the exchange launched from that initial contact. More than just another 'let's do lunch sometime' thing, though, like we all hear now and then... Funny about that...
'How are you?' Good to see you!', 'I think of you often...', 'Let's do lunch', and other forms of polite banter often with no real meaning behind them. Have we become so habitual, so 'custom-bound' that we've actually evolved into insincere rhetorical creatures just going through the motions of conversation while following some modern protocol ritual? Hmmm...
Anyway, that text happened to be from someone I've known for many years... Long enough to know that when he says something, he means it. An old friend, 3fan4life, lives in Moneta, VA, a burb of nearby Roanoke, and he along with his bride, Ginger, wanted to know if I'd like to have lunch with them the following Saturday? Well heck yeah! An unexpected surprise: Something not typical at all during most previous Airbnb stays... I had a great time, and I also realized a few things I’d not paid much attention to lately…
The weather forecast, as usual, had included dire predictions for that particular day a week or so in advance. No need to panic, though, as we all knew it would be changing several times, so only a last-minute gander had any real hope of yielding anything even remotely accurate. It did turn out to be a somewhat warm, but a partly hazy/mostly sunny day… perfect for idly watching the river flow by and ponderously chatting about things going on in our lives… Of course, reminiscing about shared memories was also a prominent feature…
We compared notes, for example, on coping with some of the very real problems of life: Things like what to do with ageing parents, uncles, aunts, etc., and the sadness of watching those we care deeply for deteriorating day by day both physically and mentally. The impact of those very real aspects of life that have a way of urgently intruding upon our own lives, plans, and aspirations and altering them in unanticipated ways. None of us are immune from those.
We shared a decent meal together, but much more than that, we deepened our bonds of friendship, and we had one of those special encounters that make us glad to be part of something so unexpected, unscripted, but downright delightful! More than just familiar faces with some common interests… Kindred spirits who are willing to open up and trust us with intimate parts of their lives. Folks who have much in common with us, and friends with whom we feel a very special connection and fondness… feelings that continue to grow…
We traveled by car due to the wimp factor of this relic of a once much more ardent rider. I’m mighty glad we did, too! It occurred to this sociable recluse along our route, as we wound our way through the twisty back roads of southern Virginia, that we’d enjoyed ‘visiting’ throughout the twenty miles or so ride to Fries, VA, (pronounced ‘Freeze’) and to the Windy River Café. That those rambling conversations were turning out to be a major highlight of this entire event! I also discovered that I’d been ‘hungry’ for this type of ‘sustenance’ more than I’d realized…
Mark & Debbie Nelson
Windy River Café
free pic hostingThree versions of lunch:
Ginger had ‘naked’ beef tips, fried squash, and pinto beans
3fan had a ‘Dambuster’ hamburger, fixins, and fries
The bug slayer enjoyed his beef tips 'dressed' with peppers & onions, mushrooms and gravy, fries, and pinto beans. I always order that type of ‘toot fruit’ whenever I see it’s available!
A good feed in one of those out of the way places we only rarely but always happily stumble upon, and… all that good stuff that always goes with such a stop-over… Even better, this place was right on the New River with a park right there, too. We saw the dam, watched the river flow by, studied the folks also taking-in the spectacle, and we continued to chat about whatever popped up.
The dam
The dam up close
post imagesA nice, lazy afternoon that easily would have produced a major league nap had I been seated in my own nap chair. The extra firmness of the picnic table bench seat I was on, however, did at least ensure I missed none of the spirit-renewing conversations to be had! We even stopped for some ice cream on the way back to my rental house…
Alas, no pics of the ice cream… No photo of the gazebo in my backyard either, where we sat for a time and offered up a gleeful benediction to that absolutely splendid day! A ride on our scoots that day would have certainly been nice… Personally, though, I’m glad things went just the way they did…
We hadn’t decided to visit that particular place until after Mark & Debbie had picked up their guest and several options had been kicked around. What a wonderful surprise all of what followed turned out to be, though! A vivid reminder of the stark contrast between the benefits of my current style of aimlessly meandering around our spectacular continent versus the rigidity of the well thought out, carefully planned travel back in the days when it was necessary to do such. It is absolutely true… I do enjoy the no-plan plan for touring North America best of all!!!
DDT (12)
