Gifts from Strangers

Well, OK, I didn't exactly get back to this the next day. Actually, I've been nursing along a very personal gift from my seat mate during the majority of my ride home.

I didn't catch his name, but it doesn't really matter. He reminded me of Matthew Broderick, with his boyish face, but he was 30 and had made some decisions in his life that he wasn't all that proud of. Welcome to the club.

He was traveling from Vancouver, BC, to stay with his parents, in Tuscon, AZ, for a while. Since flights were snarled at the airports, he opted for the Greyhound bus in anticipation that it would be able to get him there quicker and with less hassle. Boy was he wrong!

I had heard about the weather conditions in Portland from the gentleman in line with me at the Bakersfield station. Well, it wasn't any better any where else in the area and so, my fellow traveler ended up staying the night there, waiting for the roads to clear.

Not wanting to spend the night at the station, he figured he could get a better night's rest at a local motel. Was he ever wrong. The place was infested with roaches (he said he was afraid to turn the light off) and the other guests were very loud, thus, he got little sleep. This detour, also, cost him the majority of his US funds. In hindsight, he new it had been foolish to not have converted more cash to US dollars, but hindsight doesn't get you very far when you have several more days ahead of you to travel.

Thankfully, he met many generous people along the way who helped him out. One gentleman actually tried to drive him to a bank so he could exchange more money, but the banks weren't open. They left him back at the station with a bag of assorted candy that they had recently purchased, and wishes for better fortune. Others bought him meals at stops along the way, or just gave him some cash.

He was overwhelmed at the friendliness of strangers, as people in the US have a poor reputation, among Canadians, as being less than good samaritans.

All in all, his trip had taken him a total of 5 long days. He missed Christmas with his family, the initial reason for his travels, and spent it on a bus full of strangers, came down with a nasty virus 2 days into his trip (that's what he shared with me), and had very little sleep. But, he came away with a better understanding of human nature, and of himself, with new plans for his future. (He had a lot of time to ponder this during his adventure.) We talked about him writing about his travels and the people he met. It's something he hadn't done before, but so was the bus ride.

We parted at the Phoenix station, with a hug and best wishes for both of us.

These strangers, who gave me glimpses into their lives, and the helpful ones who guided me on my journey, especially the man with the 4 kids who sat behind me on the first leg of my travels and translated the announcements for me (they were made in Spanish as all but 3 of us on the bus were hispanic), left me with a piece of them to take with me. I have no names, only faces, but they are embedded in my memory, right along with the holiday visit with my family.