Bad Moment Turns to 14 Years of Grace
In the first place, I wouldn't have expected to find such a story in Coastal Living magazine, and then I saw it was by a writer I know, Durham's Barry Yeoman.
The story angle that made the piece fit into a magazine about coasts was the fact that it all took place near the water in Cadiz, Spain, where "Atlantic waves crash hard against a low stone wall." But the courage Barry showed and the open-heartedness he encountered were what engaged me. (And I'm pretty fond of crashing waves.)
The story he told: Back in 1998, he was walking along a stone pier, passed a bunch of young guys on a bench, stopped when he thought they'd called out to him. When he tried to speak, his stutter stopped him. (A brother of mine stutters and I particularly admire people like him and like Barry who speak up anyway.) The guys laughed when he'd gotten a couple of words out. "I stormed off," he writes, "but then turned around and went back."
He told them he had a speech problem. "To my surprise, they admired my boldness and invited me into their fold. They offered me drinks and the briny guts of a fresh-caught sea urchin." (Talk about courage!)
That moment over many subsequent trips turned into "14 years of hospitality and grace," of singing with them, meeting their families, watching them grow up and produce their own families. All because he turned around and went back.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:49 am
Oh, what a great story! And just reading the words, "crashing waves" makes me very happy. Fun!
January 15th, 2013 at 9:21 am
I feel the same way about those waves, Beth. And there are other nice watery moments in Barry’s story. I tried and tried to find a copy of it online to link to and couldn’t. I’ll ask him: Barry Yeoman! Where is your Coastal Living awkward-moment article online?
January 16th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Hallo Peggy, you have closed comments on earlier posts? I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed 'Why Teach? Why Write?" Beautifully put.
Thanks for the follow on Twitter. I get the feeling we both like strong blue pigments !!!
January 16th, 2013 at 8:15 pm
That's Really turning something around! w/ courageous grace! Brings tear=s to my eyes. Bravo! Barry. This sorta thing often happens when someone is bold & brave enough to face down the dragon guarding our deepest treasures. Aiki
January 16th, 2013 at 8:21 pm
[...] Bad Moment Turns to 14 Years of Grace [...]
January 17th, 2013 at 8:01 am
Very nice idea that dragons are guarding treasures, Aiki. Puts dragons in a better light.
January 17th, 2013 at 8:02 am
Didn’t mean to close those comments, Geni. It happens automatically after a while. Maybe I can change that. Glad to know that you’re also a fan of deep blue.