Ready or Not

   Before destroying a village in Vietnam, US troops evacuated its citizens. As the helicopter rose above the jungle, the peasants asked what that big body of water was. It was the Pacific Ocean. Though the ocean was only five miles from their home, they had never even been aware of it, let alone visited it. I wonder why I can’t be more like those peasants. 

   Maybe Americans have restless genes. Our ancestors left their villages to come here. Once established here, they told stories about the old home place. I was curious to see how much I had in common with the  place my grandparents had come from. Not very much it seems. I’m an American now and that’s just fine. 

   When I looked over my Irish grandparent’s birth certificates, I was surprised to see them listed as citizens of the United Kingdom. I shouldn’t have been surprised because they were born before Ireland gained its independence from Britain in 1922. 

   We may have relatives in Ireland but we don’t know them. We’ve wandered around the countryside but haven’t met any. On a later trip we went to England to visit the location of one of Teresa’s favorite British TV series on the Cornish coast in the southwest of England among other spots. We found the scenery and the people highly likable. After trips to various European countries we decided to return to England this October. 

   We like to take walks to preserve our health so we’ve lined up a five day hike in the countryside along the Thames River. A company will arrange our nightly lodging and move our suitcases along the route. We are planning on good weather on our twelve mile days. We do have rainsuits and umbrellas. We’ve heard it’s been a dry fall so far this year in Britain. We shall see. I’ve also read October is the second rainiest month of the year in England. If along the way, we’re abducted by aliens and I look out the window as we leave earth and ask, what’s that little blob, they might reply, “That’s your Milky Way galaxy, mate.”

River Thames