A Canadian, Cameroonian and a Romanian are in an ice cream shop... sounds like a bar joke that takes place in an ice cream shop. However small nor casual such encounter might be, it has a profound implications in the direction the world is moving and what is fast becoming the normal (people of diverse backgrounds interacting and settling in countries not their country of birth).
Whatever the circumstances, historical forces, or personal motivations that made us three individuals find ourselves in the beautiful island of Key West-FL, having a friendly conversation, says a lot about humanity.
Steve left Vancouver Island-Canada and has been traveling for eight months now . We met in Boston-Massachusetts at a Birth of Baha’u’llah celebration (special holy day for Bahais ).
He arrived in Key West Wednesday afternoon and in the evening we met for a walk around Mallory Square to check out some of the performers for sunset celebration with no spectacular sunset, boardwalk on sunset key, and before making the walk up Duval to the beach we stopped for some delicious ice cream, and that is where we met the lovely young lady from Romania. In no time we stroke a conversation about the weather, life in paradise (Key West), to lives of travelers and immigrants.
We were at awe appreciating the fact that the three of us from such far corners of the earth find ourselves in Key West enjoying conversation and ice cream. Not only did we represent diverse backgrounds in terms of countries but representing three continents as well; Africa, the Americas and Europe.
It was a sweater or light jacket wearing evening, cold by Key West standards, clouds covered 50 degrees weather with a light breeze, but the Canadian was loving it.
At the beach watching the lights of boats far off from the Atlantic shores, Steve shared some stories about his travels and adventures of the past eight months, his renewed belief in humanity and an ever increasing faith in God.
We contemplated on this irony travelers and nomads encounter: people of various backgrounds, occupations, class, religion and upbringing who time and time again go beyond the call of duty to welcome, care for and love complete strangers are the same ones who when saying goodbye warn you by saying “be careful out there, its dangerous”
We made it to Grateful guitar for a Wednesday Bluegrass jam session.
It was such a wonderful jam session, and by the end of it Steve made new friends, an engaged young couple from Kansas.
I rode the bike home happy and content with the beat of the bluegrass song Gold rush.
Another lovely time for this 21st century nomad in Paradise.
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