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| Anderson |
It was an ordinary day. Sitting on a beach chair talking with 17-year-old Anderson whom I just bought two hand-made bracelets from for my two granddaughters. For the past two weeks I have watched this young man who wears white and gray shorts and a white shirt with white visor walk the shoreline of Cable Beach near the town of Nassau trying to sell his hand-woven bracelets to tourists. Most don’t even look his way or acknowledge him as he walks past their beach chairs. On the day before Carol and I were slated to leave this beautiful island in the Bahamas, I told her I was going to buy two of his bracelets for our granddaughters. Grabbed my wallet and phone and headed toward the water. Just as I reached the water I met him and told him I would like two of his bracelets if he would sit and talk with me before I bought them. Wasn’t long before we were sitting on a beach chair talking about his life on the island. He had just finished high school a few months before and can now spend all his time walking the beach trying to sell the bracelets that his mother makes at their home in the middle of the island. I asked him how he gets to the beach and he said, “Bus #10 drops me off right across the street from the beach.
Get here at 10 am and walk the beach selling bracelets until I go home at 4 pm.” He has been walking this beach for close to four years now, but since graduating he will have more time to try and sell his bracelets. Days are hot on this island with summer temperatures creeping near the century mark on many days. The sand is beautiful, but hard to walk since it isn’t very firm along the water where he must walk so as not to draw the ire of the resorts along the beach. He lives with his mother who not only makes the bracelets but makes peanut brittle that she sells from their home. Life for many on this island is tough and tourism is the major business for those who have very little other skills. Nonetheless, I found Anderson to be a very courteous young man with a smile that lights not only his face, but all around him. A fantastic ambassador for the island known as New Providence in the Bahamas. And, my granddaughters will love the bracelets that I have bought from him. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| Gary the plane man. |
It was an ordinary day. My grandson Caden and I were traveling around the country roads near his house when we discovered a few guys flying airplanes in a field about 100 yards off the road. I could sense Caden's interest so I pulled into the stone driveway that wound back to the grassy area in the middle of a field filled with foot high corn. We found about a half dozen guys, all probably retired gentlemen, sitting under a pavilion, taking turns flying their radio-controlled planes. We got out of the car and headed towards the action. One gentleman, Gary saw us approaching and walked to meet us. Gary was filled with a wealth of knowledge about his club which purchased a few acres of land from a local farmer and had the farmer level the ground so they could plant the field with grass for their club which was named the "Mount Joy Radio Control Club." Caden and I both had many questions which Gary fielded with an easy to understand answer. He spent about 20 minutes with us and then it was his turn to fly his plane. His plane, which had a wing-span close to five feet across, cost him $2,000 to buy and assemble. It was powered with a battery and he was able to have it take flight in about 10 seconds. Each member tries to fly their plane from take-off to landing on top of a hat, placed in the middle of the grass, in exactly 3 minutes. Distance from the hat, taking too little or too much time, or landing in the middle of the corn, all took off points from their score. Gary's plane reached over 300 feet in no time and then he turned off the engine and put it into a free-fall glide. Back and forth from one end of the field to the other. Another club member was calling out to him at 15 second intervals until he reached the final 30 seconds when he heard them count in five second intervals with the final 10 second countdown. As the clock his zero Gary's plane landed directly on the top of the hat! He raced out to pick his plane up and headed toward Caden and me to invite us to an event the following weekend. You could see and sense his enthusiasm and passion for his hobby and he wanted us to feel the same way. Planes start at about $250 and he thought Caden would enjoy trying it some day. Caden and I thanked Gary, waved to the rest of the group and sat in the car to watch one more plane fly their 3 minute routine. This one landed in the cornfield and a half dozen guys reluctantly got out of their chairs to help the pilot find his plane. Caden looked at me and said, "I wonder how they find the plane when the grass is taller than they are?" Good question! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
