Slowing Down to Say Hello

It is amazing how much you can learn about someone if you just slow down and take a few minutes to listen.  On a recent warm sunny day I took a stroll thru downtown Bangor and met this man playing beautifully while sitting on one of the sidewalk benches.    

 At his feet he had opened his guitar case and placed a small hand written sign 

"raising money for charity".   I took a few dollars out of my pocket and gently lowered them into his collection.  He briefly stopped playing for a moment to say "thank you".   I nonchalantly hung around  until he finished singing and then politely asked if I could sit next to him and talk for  a minute.

   He shared with me that his Dad taught him how to play guitar when he was just a little boy.   I also learned that he was is a United States Marine who served in Vietnam.  He also talked about how he lived alone in an apartment close by.   Over the next 20 minutes Terry and I talked about all kinds of stuff.  I learned that  Terry's life has not always been easy and my instincts nudge me to believing that at times it has been quite difficult.   However, he had a very contagious human spirit of optimism,  hope and joy.  He was so appreciative of all the good people that are part of his life.   As I began to leave,  I asked him if I could take his picture and he graciously agreed.  

I am so glad that I took a few minutes to slow down and chat with this wonderful decent man.  If you are ever downtown and see Terry make sure you stop to say hello, I know I will.        dg

Signs of Spring

I find that even when Winter has a firm grasp and refuses to play nice,  our good friend mother nature always finds a way to tell us that old man winter will be soon packing his bags.   And sure enough one of these signs appeared on Saturday afternoon.  It came in the form of kayakers in the Kenduskeag River.   These two young men,  both students at Maine Maritime were a joy to chat with.  Can you believe this is their 3rd time out this season, wow!   While the afternoon sun was quite warm, the river looked and had to be cold, it was.  However, both of these young man were actually sweating as it takes a tremendous amount of energy to keep these kayaks pointed in the right direction.  This is definitely something I want to try..........in August.

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