The Ice Man Giveth but Does He Taketh?

Well folks it’s time for the second random observation. Go back a day to read the first and give me some love and come back tomorrow for the third. It’s a series of five! It gets better and better!

Number 2. Overwhelming genorosity…sort of.

I did it. I went solo camping. Yes me, a middle-aged, over weight (over whose weight is unclear), non-black belt trained woman. Granted I’ve traveled internationally alone, ignorant and lacking traveling savvy. I went and did what I was supposed to and made it back home. Let’s not talk about how I forgot which hotel (not a chain people)I was staying in as I raced on foot to pick up stored luggage and catch the last shuttle to Heathrow before my flight. But camping, in the woods, by myself, that’s a different ball game. You may wonder why was this endeavor so important? Not so I could prove myself capable, sorry guys, I know I’m capable. It really was all about the blessed freedom to just be me. It was the ‘solo’ part that I sought. Funny thing is, in less than an hour, the guy in the adjacent campsite called to me. “Excuse me Miss but do you need some ice?” He held a bag in his hands. He stood in the middle of the road between our sites. It happened that it was in the mid-eighties, hot enough that ice was definitely a valuable commodity. The thing was I already had a good stash of ice and my cooler was packed full with water bottles. But, I weighed my options, say ‘no thank you’ and appear snobbish or accept the gift. He claimed that the bag was too big, too much ice and he wouldn’t need it all. He was staying in an Airstream. I think a nineteen foot one. I’m fairly certain there was enough room for all that ice. This is when the ‘solo’ part started to feel risky. That feeling only deepened as the sun set and the night wore on. Was this man next door just a nice, polite guy, wanting to not waste ice, wanting to extend a friendly welcome to his neighbors? I’ll never know if the same scene had played out if my husband had been present but stay tuned for part 2 of the Ice Man’s contribution to my ‘solo camping’ saga. You’ll have to come back maybe for the next three days.

Generosity, should be applauded. It should be the mark of someone with integrity. Too bad that the first thing that comes to mind is, “what’s your angle?”. Don’t let that stop you though from doing a random act of kindness. A good deed is good regardless if anyone is looking or telling you so. Thank you to all the nice people who give freely and always mean well. Best, Clare.