Won’t You Be My Neighbour

This evening Jim and I went for a walk in downtown LLano. We had a little rain earlier in the day and the air was sweet and cool and irresistible. So we took some time to be alone and exercise our long-sitting bodies.

The Llano square pretty well closes down at 5:30, but there are a couple of restaurants and a bar that stay open for people under the age of 75. ; ) While we were walking past one of the said restaurants Jim spotted a man who was packing up his heavy laden bicycle and asked him where he was going, it being obvious that he wasn’t just heading down main street to his local abode.

This is something that I would never do. I tend to imagine that most people would really rather not be bothered by strangers, and that might be true, but I am so happy that this man was not one of those people.

He was fascinating. One of the many fascinating people I hope to meet on this journey. Like us he had given up the settled life and had taken to the open road.  Having left Salt Lake City last March he is peddling his way around the country with the plan of eventually ending up in South Africa, obviously trading in the bike for some other form of transportation upon reaching the ocean.

We talked with him about many things in that twenty- five minutes or so. And found several points of common opinion. It was truly a joy to have met him and have shared a small part of his journey.

Something that we had talked about before taking on this lifestyle was all the different ways we hoped to change because of it, and engaging other human beings, face to face, is a change I would like to make. And for an introvert that’s a big task.

So wish me luck as I summon forth my inner Mr. Rogers and sing to everyone I meet (well anyone who doesn’t look too scary) “Won’t you be my neighbour.”