Date: 2005-04-18
From: Microtel Inn-Port Clinton Room 105

To: Microtel Inn-Port Clinton Room 105
Miles today: 0.7
Weather: clear sky

What an interesting day. Slept well and arose late, and had a call from KT while eating breakfast at Burger King ¢ the large omelet. Modern technology continues to impress me, that I can be having both breakfast and a conversation with my wife who is driving to work, is to me nothing short of magical. But who was it that said, ¢ Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic¢? Asimov??   After breakfast I took a pleasant walk back along PA61 to Port Clinton proper, where I explored the town, and retrieved my drop box without difficulty. There were a lot of turkey buzzards circling overhead, adding credence to the towns claim to be ¢Buzzard Capital of the Northeast¢ The museum was closed, but as I was sauntering along the main street I had the great good luck to run into one of the most interesting people that I have met on my travels so far.   Fred is a 72 yo and has lived in Port Clinton all of his life. We just started to talk on the main street and our conversation lasted for three hours! He is a trail angel for hikers and frequently helps them out at the camping spot at the community pavilion here. He has a million stories ¢ including the tail about Lucky Star, who was attacked by a bear while sleeping in her bivy sac just north of here. She stayed with him and his wife for four days and he helped her over the shock of the attack and even helped her to get back on the trail. Returning from his house he showed me his hikers logbook where she had recounted her story. He also had an entry from Slow Barbara, and when he discovered that I knew her, he got out his photo album, and showed me a picture of her.   Fred is a very humble man, never admitting that he has been such a great help to so many hikers over the years. He has a habit of deflecting any praise by spitting out of the side of his mouth, scuffing the toe of his boot in the dust, and readjusting his Appalachian Outfitters cap on his head, before moving on to another topic of conversation.   He then insisted that I meet ¢an old friend of his¢ He took me to an old house ¢ early 1800 ¢ where I got to meet Myrtle. She is 94 years old ¢ a native of Port Clinton also ¢ and she lives in the house by herself, but gets a lot of help from her neighbors. Fred had just painted a bench in front of her house ¢ red and black ¢ that morning. She made a great fuss over me, and insisted on my having coffee. We were soon joined by another neighbor ¢ Lorraine ¢ so there we sat around the kitchen table, with its plastic flowered table cloth, talking about life and change, in a kitchen that was eerily similar to the kitchen of an old lady that my mother knew in East Ferry in Co. Cork in Ireland. My mind suddenly transported me back to that time. Sitting at the kitchen table, talking to the old lady, drinking coffee/tea. The hot spring/summer sun beaming down outside, in an old kitchen of a house full of memories.      The population of Port Clinton is about 300 people; most of them of German-Dutch descent, and they all know each other and most of them have some sort of familial connection. This close knit community reminded me of many an Irish village that I have visited, where a 94 year old can live by herself in her own hone, surrounded by her own belongings and the generations of dreams and memories that they contain, with the help of her neighbors. Even thought Myrtle has had her hip pinned after a fracture due to a fall, she can still negotiate the steep stairs to her third floor bedroom, insists on making coffee for all her visitors, and is an alert, story full, charming and vivacious old lady. What an experience for me!      Then it was a slow and thoughtful stroll back along the banks of the river. Since I was now hiking north on the next segment of the AT from Port Clinton to the PA61 bridge, and carrying my backpack, I am even able to claim 0.7 miles on the trail today ¢ not even a zero day!      I was struck once again by the confluence of events today. We are all truly interconnected.Thought for today ¢       There are no coincidences!