What I Missed the Most

Do you feel exhilarated by the new freedom from masks and from being home-bound?  I hope so! I hope you have been able to be protected by the vaccines and are getting back out and enjoying life.  I sure have enjoyed the freedom of seeing dear family and friends "up close and personal," however that plays out, from just sitting closely together and visiting without worries about the virus to lots of nice hugging. 

But over the past couple of weeks I realized that the thing I missed the most this past year and a half was chatting with people I dont't know.   Oh, how I missed those casual and spontaneous conversations with total strangers.  I hadn't realized how much spice they brought to my life. 

I don't know the spirited young lady in the above photo but she caught my attention at the Double O Arch in Arches National Park when I was there with Jean and Janice in mid May.  Someone was taking her photograph from the front while I was sitting behind her taking in all that lovely scenery.  Her exuberance caught my attention and as I watched her run through various poses I wanted to capture that joy.  So I pulled out new iPhone 12 Pro Max and began shooting.  I loved what I captured and had the urge to share it with her, but should I?  Could I? We weren't exactly "post virus" and it had been a long time since I freely struck up conversations with strangers.  But I decided to give it a try so I approached her and offered her a look at my "from behind" photos.  She was very receptive, as was her boyfriend, and we had a short but rewarding chat about the pictures, their trip, my trip, and how we all loved Arches.  Ah, how that encounter filled my heart!    

This is Jamie. 

She tends the bar at Jax Seafood House, one of our favorite restaurants.  Pre-pandemic Ben and I loved to spontaneously walk down to Jax and see if we could get a seat at the bar.  What a treat to sit and watch the comings and goings of guests, listen to the banter of the staff, and observe the interesting and hard work of the bar tenders and oyster shuckers.  And we loved how easy it was to strike up a conversation with the staff and with other guests. 

 I remember clearly one night when we were there and met a chic and fascinating woman who knew a great deal about wine.  It was a slow night but things perked up when she ordered a little known label from an eastern European country--perhaps Czechoslovakia, I don't remember--which intrigued some of the staff and she generously offered them a taste, which started several rounds of "you gotta try this" exchanges, which was such fun to watch. We chatted her up and found that she was in Boulder on business, was out on the town by herself, and had a cute little girl and a husband back at home.  All very interesting and delightfully out of our normal experience. 

Well, back to Jamie.  When we first arrived tonight the place was buzzing and she was busy, but as it got later the bar cleared out and we began to comment on what she was doing and making, to which she enthusiastically responded.  One thing she was doing was mixing up Lemoncello from the lemons steeping in jugs in the basement below us, and when we expressed an interest, she offered us tastes of the homemade Lemoncello and Orancello.  What a tasty and enjoyable chat!  We asked if she used Cocktail Punk bitters, which our son Paul bottles and now mixes, and indeed she did.  She heard they had a new Lavender flavor out and did we know of it?  Indeed we did and offered to drop off a bottle for her to try.  All such fun and satisfying.   

These are just a couple of our recent "liberated" experiences.  It seems we talk with with all kinds of people all the time nowadays and I just love it.  I missed these little but sweet connections so much.  It's great to be having them again!