DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4120
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« on: November 25, 2018, 09:21:44 AM » |
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Many years ago, a local riding bud of mine called me up and asked if I’d like to do a road trip with him to San Diego, CA… Naturally I was interested, so I responded accordingly… This was a very unusual request, though, given his riding resume up to that point… I’ll explain…
Peter had been born and raised in the New York City area and had lived there his entire life, until he and his family had recently retired to central Florida. He’d always lived in the city except for his time in the Army, which included two tours in Viet Nam, where he served on med-evac helicopters… He’d even ridden two of them down after receiving hostile fire, but he was not captured either time.
Peter had owned and ridden a few sports bikes in his youth, but he’d never done any serious riding of any sort. He’d bought a 650 Yamaha V-Star on a whim once he’d arrived in Florida… I met him at the local Honda dealer quite by chance one fine day while ‘our girl’ was receiving some routine attention… We hit it off immediately.
I invited him to join us Valkers for a ‘Q’ run we were making the following Saturday, and he gleefully accepted my offer! Our group had begun riding to various BBQ places around the state to meet up and do what we do, and to enjoy some fine swine together… This particular outing was to Mayo, FL, a tiny little place about 105 miles one-way from Ocala…
By the time we’d returned that day, Peter’s fanny had convinced him that he needed a different ‘tool’ for this type of task, so barely four days later, he called me up to come over and see his new to him Valk! We did many day rides around the area, and he fell in love with his machine, the same way we all have…
One day, a former wife of his called him and informed him that his now teenage son had expressed great interest in getting to know his ‘dad’, and that she thought it would be good for him to come for a visit… His mind started to churn, not unlike the way it does for yours truly and for most of us, and he came up with a predictable idea! Instead of flying out and back, why not… you know…
Yep, he wanted to ride cross country thereby making this much more than a simple visitation… Solid plan, I’d thought, only he’d never ridden more than a day ride before… His first ‘overnighter’ would be on this trip! I agreed anyway, and we headed out…
We had an amazing ride out there, spent four days there with his son and former spouse, her brother, and family… The ex and her brother even escorted me to Tijuana and showed me around, while Peter spent some quality time with his son…
Some rather nasty weather developed ahead of us on our way back to the land of curious election procedures, so we just took advantage of it… We made some detours to places not originally on our itinerary like southern Arizona and Tombstone, Big Bend National Park, and some riding around in southwest Texas and then ‘The Texas Hill Country’.
By the time we’d reached Houston on our return ride, we’d caught back up to the cold and rain we'd been dodging for several days, so we slowed our pace considerably… We’d ride until we started to feel sprinkles, then we’d pull over and wait for it to move on eastward. Slow going, and it was starting to get old, when…
We’d already lost any hope of making it back by Thanksgiving Day, so we just did the best we could and made our excuses to the folks waiting for us at home… We’d ridden through Houston early that cold, drab, wet Thanksgiving Day morning, but there was a silver lining… Yep, if one has to ride through Houston, early on a holiday morning is definitely a time I would recommend!
Once across the Sabine, we’d again caught up with the weather, so we’d pulled off near Crowley, LA, for yet another break… While standing around, an old man, driving a very modest older looking station wagon, pulled away from the gas pump and parked next to us. We began to chat, and immediately we knew there would be a language challenge! He had a very pronounced, thick Cajun drawl, I spoke a southern redneck dialect, and Peter had that trademark New York City accent.
In a rather short while, the old man abruptly turned and walked back to his car, then departed… Curious, but… I went inside to attend another matter and maybe browse the aisles to kill some time, while Peter remained outside… When I walked back out, the old man had returned and was talking with Peter again… Peter, confused, said to him, "I don’t know, man, he’s the boss, so you’ll have to ask him…”
The old man then asked me if Peter and I would like to have Thanksgiving Day dinner with him and his family… WOW! Peter, being from a large city, was naturally skittish about any kind of invitation from a stranger, and predictably suspicious of something seemingly generous and self-less in nature… I, on the other hand, had spent much time already in Cajun-land, so I knew immediately this was a genuine and most generous invitation, and it would be almost impolite to decline! I enthusiastically accepted!!!
We followed the old man to his humble dwelling, and there we met his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and two grandkids… his other kids and their families lived elsewhere. The old couple were obviously quite religious, as all of the typical icons, pictures, and other items associated with that were on prominent display. They were so very nice, though, cordial, polite, open, and hospitable! Peter and I both felt very welcome, quite comfortable and right at home!
The meal itself was a true culinary adventure for both of us! There were a couple of items I thought it best not to inquire about their origins, and most of the dishes I couldn’t even begin to pronounce the names of, but all were tasty and interesting.
Part of the story of the Cajun people is how they’ve managed to flourish in a rather inhospitable environment into which they’d been involuntarily thrust. From the start they’d been on their own with no outside help, and little but tenacity and strong character to aid them. They adapted and found sustenance where it existed, and they made the most of what was available…
Perhaps the most endearing quality I’ve found among those wonderful people is that in spite of the hardship, disease, poverty, discrimination, and disproportionate challenges they’ve had to face over the last 250 + years, they’ve remained optimistic, happy and cheerful… This is reflected in their lively music, spicy food, and palpable zest for life! Anyone who can spend any time down there and not thoroughly enjoy themselves… well… That just won’t be possible!
They celebrate life every day, they are generous, kind, and friendly, and they open themselves to others more than most of us ‘outsiders’ are used to finding. They are also strong, though, and they can take care of themselves. It would be unwise indeed to cross them or try to take advantage of them. However, they will treat anybody well, if they perceive good intentions in the stranger who might wander in… I visit ‘Acadiana’ often precisely because I’ve grown to respect and dearly like those amazing folks…
While these traits are admirable and most endearing, I don’t mean to imply that they are unique only to the Cajun people! I’ve found those same qualities among virtually every ethnic, cultural, or racial group I’ve ever spent any time with, and I’ve grown to look for it, marvel at it, and revel in it! All people have the same attributes, and what we come to see is determined more by what we look for, and by what others choose to pursue and present… and not by any uniquely intrinsic quality or flaw.
John & Mary Quibideaux were wonderful hosts to us. He’d picked up in our initial conversation, that we were two family men separated from our loved ones on this special holiday. He’d gone home to check with his wife to see if it would be OK to invite two strangers to join them… then, he’d returned to extend the invitation. Peter and I passed a couple of incredible hours with some mighty fine folks, and our lives were touched, enriched, and blessed, in a very special way…
We had another of those very special road trips… discovering more of what is out there in our vast nation, learning about some of the distinct ‘people’ who share our bonds of citizenship, and learning yet again how the incredible individual threads of the diversity of its people truly are the ‘strength’ of its tapestry as a whole.
How such a melting pot can offer so many varied experiences, lessons, and reveal such curious differences and seemingly stark contrasts, only to have us ultimately realize that what separates us is actually nothing more than a thin, superficial veneer of customs and choices over-lying so much more that proves we are all just alike in the ways that truly matter. That there is but one ‘race’ of any consequence… the human race…
DDT
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