Tonight I had the privilege and pleasure of spending time with a new friend who has a very intriguing story (I'll let him tell you that here). He wanted a taste of Philadelphia so I took him to Tony Luke's for a roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe. I wanted some conversation so, after enjoying our sandwiches, we headed to one of my favorite South Philly coffee shops.
One of the most interesting things about my friend is that he has decided to walk from Maine, most of the way down the east coast. I don't know too many people willing to do that. In fact, the only person I know who's walked anywhere near that distance is my father; he walked across the city, but that was because he had to get to the other side. My new friend is doing this for the sheer joy of adventure. So needless to say, I was excited to tell others about his story thinking that they would respond with the same enthusiasm. A coffee shop is the perfect place to do this, right? Most times, a room filled with people, who are full of caffeine and the conviction of personal opinion makes for some pretty fertile ground to share an interesting tidbit. I thought so.
We walk into the coffee shop. The room is warm and I'm livened by the smell of coffee and the chatter of small talk and study groups. I hunt for an unsuspecting ear to tell my story to. It's probably because I was so eager to share my news that I just told the first person I saw, but, I told the first person I saw--a young lady behind the counter.
"Hello there! Listen. I have something to tell you," I say, "my friend--you're just gonna love this--walked from Maine all the way here to Philadelphia. Isn't that crazy? I mean what do you think of that!?"
At this point I'm simply waiting for any one of several replies; "Oh wow! That's so crazy!" or "My, you're very dedicated. Not many people are up for such things." or even, "Oh see. . .sir. . . YOU are the most interesting man in the world, and you're too young to drink Dos Equis! You are purely the most interesting man I've met!" Any one of those would've been acceptable.
What I got was a listening look of neutrality, a little smile, and ensuing words:
"Uh-huh. That's neat. . .I walked across Spain."
"Oh. . ." I said, "Well. . .what are the odds somebody would pull that one out? I just. . .I just really wasn't. . .ah. . .That's really interesting that you did that. . ."
At that point, I was more or less isolated from the conversation because my friend, and the swashbuckling Spain-walker had their travels in common. I just wanted my coffee. Nonetheless, I was and still am encouraged by my new friend and I'm sure you will be too. That is of coarse, if you haven't walked across Asia.
I'm supposed to have Indian food with my dad this Sunday. I know Maine to Philadelphia tops Baltimore Avenue to Broad Street any day.
This story reminded me of another funny tale told by one of my favorite comedians:
