A Day of Days

We continue to implement our policy...all requests through the 'Off Season' months will be taken care of and receive the same quality of service as in the 'On Season'. There will be no slacking !

Therefore when two people want to kayak early Thanksgiving morning, and the elements are good, so be it.

On the drive out, I pass a major utility work crew on the causeway replacing a telegraph pole. I get to Tybee and the lights are out. About 2pm last night somebody took out the pole in their truck. About six people have died on this road this year...all from very bad driving technique, not always their own.

The young married couple on my tour are from India, but have been living/working in Atlanta for two years. It's a beautiful morning. Quiet and calm. They paddle very slowly, talking a lot to each other in Hindi or Urdu, not sure which. They do not see a dolphin deep dive 15 yards away. We take a walk on Little Tybee beach. They take photos of each other. I take a photo of them together. "Send this one to your mother", I tell them. We are all smiling and walking. They are from a small town outside Mumbai. "About 8 million." Small! As it turns out, we learn that we have both been to the same meditation school in India. They are a nice couple and really enjoyed the trip, as I did.

Back at the ramp I meet a spiffy old geezer in a Nordkapp. He's with his wife, from Florida, and wanting some guide information. I oblige him. He is originally from Somerset, close to my home in Dorset, England. He came to the States in 1959... 50 years ago!
"I'm 'fresh off the boat' with only 15 years", I reply. I tell him I can show him the best places for sand, surf, and scenery in 4 hours and that the tide looks good for tomorrow. They look like a cool couple to paddle with.

Then a chap approaches and introduces himself to me...'Brian something'. He tells me his son just read our book after checking it out from the library. 'He loved it'. I tell Brian I hope it inspires his son to do the same. "I do too", he replies.

Still at the ramp, I bump into Confederate Jerry. I hardly recognise him. He's grown a beard and looks somewhere between Kenny Rogers and Grandpa Clampit. Man, can Jerry talk....mostly about "them damn yankees."

Carla and Jim, a local couple, show up. Carla is an Army Doctor. She was just about to be shipped out to Iraq, when during her physical exam they found a tumour in her jaw. They removed 4 inches of jaw bone and replaced it with titanium and bone tissue from her thigh. They did that three weeks ago and she looked great. She is now not going to Iraq and retires next year.

We had a great turkey dinner at a friend's house this afternoon. We ate and laughed, but most of all we thanked each other, we thanked ourselves, and we thanked the universe for being so weird and wonderful.
But really, just another day on this side of the globe.