Good People

I am grateful for the kindness of strangers.

Yes, there are bad people out there. Yes, I have encountered a few. And yes, because of these people, I am very cautious. I hope for the best and plan for the worst.

If you are a woman and have not read the book, Cunt by Inga Muscio, you should. It can get a bit preachy, but it is worth it. She has some very practical tactics for avoiding/getting rid of unwanted attention- none of which include, "Never go out alone after dark." I find this refreshing.

I am grateful for the kindness of strangers.

I place a very high value on "alone time." I like to experience things on my own. I like to read. I like to listen to music. I like to walk. I like to sit. I like to observe. Odd as it might sound, I like meeting new people.

I find that when I am with people I know, when I am with my friends, I meet very few new people. But when I am on my own, it never fails. I WILL meet someone new. I rarely catch their name, but their stories stick with me and I am forever grateful to them. When I spent a week in California, I met a positively fantastic man at a laundry mat. We spoke for hours, even once our laundry was long since washed, dried, and folded. This time around I met the kindest couple in Port Angeles. They opened a small restaurant in October (She does the cooking, He does the greeting/seating/serving). They were both born in Mexico, her mother was Italian. They have traveled the world together, and were kind enough to share some of their culinary creations with me: a mix of what her mother taught her, traditional Mexican cuisine, and dashes of other flavors she picked up along the way. I came in looking for some free chips and salsa and left stuffed to the brim with both fabulous food and a fresh perspective on All People.

Yes, there are some not-so-nice people out there. But there are also good people. I am simply not willing to let fear keep me from all those extraordinary folks out there.

All this in two days. Imagine.