Meeting Robert

Continuing the Portland, Maine, thread, we had a whale of a time up in that town a couple of weeks ago. I am using  a seafaring term with whale intentionally, since Portland is on the coast. I am also picking up Moby Dick to try and read it for about the 17th time. So, I have whale on the mind.

Heck, if I can read Soren Kierkegaard's Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses, I can read anything. Of course, it took me about five years to do so. Slow and steady. The final literary battle is Brothers Karamazov.

The best thing about traveling is connecting with old friends and making new friends. I was able to hang out with two friends who had formerly lived in Lancaster who now reside in the Portland area. One of the guys, I had not seen in person for over a decade. Chalk up one positive to Facebook; we had reconnected there. I had forgotten how funny the dude is. It wasn't long before we were busting each others chops, the way guys do when they like each other. He and I once said "Dude" to each other with various voices and intonations for over an hour until his wife put an end to it.

I traveled up to Portland with Hans from "Beardo and Dreads" fame. Look them up on YouTube. He is funny, smart, and a really decent dude. He is moving back to his hometown of Buffalo soon with the fam, so this was kind of a last hurrah of being able to hang-out consistently. On the plus side, I now have a contact in Buffalo! He is the dude with the dreads and it fits his vibe. As it was, his dreads are a conversation starter. We were making the rounds of cool Portland beer, coffee, and food spots on the Saturday we were up there. My buddies formerly from Lancaster were there (who didn't know each other), plus two of Kevin's friends (the other Lancaster ex-pat, along with Mark) who were really knowledgeable about the town, who dug craft beer also.

We were going  to do some Beer Bus deal but it seemed too touristy. As it was, we had the real deal locals tour. And, it was free!

As the day was wrapping up, we wound up in a mead establishment. Mead, for those of you who are sketchy on the details, is a drink fermented from honey and other flavors. Not a real fave of mine in the past. But, this stuff was good. So, as mentioned, Hans' dreads are a conversation starter. I think he has been growing them for over a decade and they go down to his waist. He struck up a conversation with Robert who was at the mead joint as part of a bachelor party. Robert was digging the dreads and soon I joined the conversation. He saw that I had a Springboks (South African rugby team) shirt on and was a rugby player also.

It reminded me that clothing often indicates the various tribes we belong to and creates connections. In Robert's and I's case, we chatted for a 10-15 minute stretch until we both had to roll. He shared with me that his grandfather in Kenya owns a coffee plantation and he invited me to visit. He is stateside now and wants to go with me back to Kenya, so we are working out the details. I already was thinking about visiting Kenya because I have another buddy who is going to be teaching there for two years!

So, the tentative plan is Kenya for Christmas 2018. I have a fascination with coffee right now. Craft beer is descending in my time and attention and coffee is ascending. Both are much more complex than commonly understood and the deeper one looks, the more avenues for exploration open up.

Travel allows us to escape traps and expand our world. It is funny how a brief conversation in a mead place can open the door to another part of the globe. Take a spin. Like the closet in the Narnia stories. We just have to open the door. Maybe God wants to meet you but you have to make a move first and put your foot down  in the River Jordan. And watch the water pile up in heap and walk through on dry land (See Joshua 3).