Meeting New Friends

Another long, hot summer day was in the cards for us yesterday, but hey, I'm not complaining ;-) 

Sitting outside reading yesterday morning, I noticed that the elderly couple across the way was wrestling with miles of white water hose. It looked like they were planning on topping up their fresh water from the tap about 200' away. He has to sit down to catch his breath every minute or two, while she totters along in a very unbalanced way. I honestly don't know how they manage. But back to yesterday - I obviously couldn't sit comfortably, while they struggled, so I called Carm and we went over to help. Apparently they've been coming here from Virginia Beach for over 20 years - she has cousins in the area. I'd be willing to bet that unhappy conversations about their way of life are happening in their home.

We had arranged with Brenda and Bill to meet here for the afternoon. Icy margaritas kept us cool in the hot afternoon and conversation flowed. It wasn't long though before the glittering water tempted us in for a swim. The water has warmed up so much since the weather turned a few days ago. There was no icy grip, but a comfortable caress. We stayed in for ages, playing like children.

Coming up the path from the water, we passed between our camper and the one behind us. John and Diane were sitting outside so we called over to them to join us for a while. Doffing my wet suit, I made some snacks and got ready to welcome our new guests. We'd talked to them on the road, but not had a real chance to get to know them.

As so often happens at our house, conversation turned to politics and things of that nature. Dianne and I were off to the side, making it easy to keep out of politics, and into a more personal conversation. I'm not sure how it came up, but I mentioned that I was bipolar, and she immediately said that her brother had been. She asked me some questions about what living with bp was like, and then I tentatively asked her about her brother. Yes, he had been bipolar, but that's not what took his like too early. He had been murdered while trying to stop someone from stealing a car. The thug had put a screwdriver through the side of his head.  Eventually the perp had been caught and is now in jail. I didn't get the feeling that his incarceration had put any closure to her brothers story. I feel that a violent death, murder, must be very difficult to move on from. Our conversation moved into other, more happy areas, but I could still sense a sadness about her. It seemed also, that she had taken a terrible event and instead of becoming bitter, has instead embraced life and pursues happiness. I know my last two statements oppose each other, but I think people are complicated enough to do both.

I think it was nearing 8pm before we started with our planned supper - hamburgers for Bill and Brenda, black-eye pea burgers for Carm and I; plus an array of salads. More laughs over the dinner table. My head hit the pillow pretty heavily after such a long day.

Today started off beautifully, but by mid afternoon the wind was blowing so hard that even Grace was happy to come inside. And by 3:30 we had a somewhat of a cloud cover.

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