Unexpected encounters

A wonderful aspect of traveling is all the people you meet along the way. Yesterday we were in one of my favorite book stores when a woman approached me and asked if i lived in that city. i replied that i didn't, told her i lived in the Virgin Islands and  she said she was from South Africa. She was looking for a popular, recent book to bring as a gift to her friend. She wanted something an avid reader may like and thought i looked like someone who could give her some ideas.

We started chatting about books, roamed around the book store together and introduced our husbands to each other. It turns out he is an avid birder in South  Africa and off we went on another round of chatting. By the end of our soujourn in the book store we had exchanged addresses and phone numbers and invited each to visit the other. It was one of those instantaneous  i like you kind of exchanges.

And it hasn't been the only one we have had. At another public venue we met an executive from General Motors in South America. We were sitting on the same bench resting while waiting for family members. We chatted about shoppers and their frenzies especially during sales and how without it the economy wouldn't churn. i said if it had to depend on me it would go bust because i wasn't a big consumer. He also was not a consumer but his wife was and he was suffering through it. They had been at the mall since 9:30 in the morning and it was now 7:00pm.

Since we had to wait so long we ended up getting very chummy and started talking politics. He was very forthcoming about the politics in his country and before we knew it we were discussing socialism, capitalism and what had been happening in S.A. Ever the grand inquisitor i asked him how he felt about the changing political landscape and he amazed me by saying he was in favor of it. He said for too long the disparity between the wealthy and the poor had held back the country but that now it was thriving.

Instead he was worried about our nation and said that if the Republicans got in we should expect a further deterioration. His grasp of our politics and the influence of money in it led him to believe we were on the way down which he found horrifying. He said the US had always been the guiding light but that now we had lost our way. He was genuinely worried about our future and saw us heading towards what they had gotten rid of... military, money and government in bed together. He saw the relationship between the three as an exercise in disaster and wondered out loud what was wrong with Americans that they were unable to see this.

i of course agreed with him but reflected on the fact that most Americans were too busy trying to make a living to pay attention to where the country was headed. He was upset that more of us didn't discuss politics and study what had gone wrong around the world when the wealthy had too much power and used the military to further their corporate goals. i could have talked to him all day but had to move on.

So far this trip has been very rich in deep discussions with people who don't live here but are very concerned for the health of our nation. i hope i meet more along the way.

i don't have time to edit so bear with me while i'm on the road.

See ya next week.