Saturday, February 14, 2009

Day 279

after cleaning church and spending the afternoon working on a few odds and ends projects and hitting up the coffee shop for some chill time, i decided tonight would be an especially good night to play piano in the lounge at the resort. valentine's day crowds and all.

i wondered if an evening hitch would be too hard to catch but after exactly two hundred and fifty seconds- i've taken to counting to see how long an average hitch catch takes- a lady in a new mini van slide over to the shoulder and unlocked the doors.

a usual hitching experience will go either two ways. the first involves a minimal exchange to confirm the other is heading to the same location. then the rest of the ride is spend in hands-folded silence or just involve bare bones conversation about origins or purposes of catching the ride. sometimes they're listening to the radio or a self help cd. it's true.

the second kind of hitching experience unfolds much like the reuniting between long lost friends- the kind where there's surprisingly good conversation between two strangers. that's what happened tonight.

this lady told me how her and her husband had bought a quarter share on one of the condos on the hill and that it still feels a bit weird to her to visit this ritzy place for the three or four weeks each winter. when they were younger, the two of them would drive around and sleep in their truck and either ski or camp and adventure. ''you don't need money to have fun and live right. so many people become [jerks] once they get a little more money and they lose touch with the simplicity and adventure they knew before.''

i wondered if it would it be rude to pull out my notebook from my back pocket. it stayed put and i listened harder.

even at the age of fifty she said could see her and her husband taking another trip in the truck. she especially stressed how thankful she was that her husband could do really well in his career and still not lose his sense of adventure and simplicity.

i was stunned. at the end i thanked her, saying that it meant a great deal to hear this from someone who has a lot of money but still hasn't lost touch with the same philosophies and pursuit of life before wealth. it went something like that but i was especially thankful because, in some odd way, it relieved much of the pressures that had been on my mind yesterday and this morning.

the car stopped at the front doors of the lodge and conversation paused for the first time since hopping in. i told her thanks, again, and she wished me good luck. her name was lori and we shook hands across the passenger seat before i closed the door.

tonight has ended with some more really encouraging words from some friends and people across the continent and they all have affirmed and edified my faith and inspiration as well as made me even more thankful for the valuable friendships i've found and developed and maintained along the way.

thanks so much.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

as long as you remain true, you will attract what you are. good for good, hope for hope, insight for insight, observation and on and on

listen...

Anonymous said...

That was really cool and encouraging; God does amazing things. Keep on goin man