Viewing entries in
Wildness
Nate and I have met some incredible people along our journey and most of the time we are sharing a story about how we entered their lives with the hope to make it just slightly better if only for a moment. In a very special case Nate and I happened to be on the receiving end of such generosity.
On Wednesday night we met some more incredibly generous human beings in Amber and Jake. As we left Talk of the Town's lively jukebox dance party Shane struck up a conversation with the two locals. They quickly showed interest in Project Wildness, and Amber didn’t even hesitate to offer us a place to hang out to get out of the rain.
As we drove down Elk street we caught just a brief clip of music from a very young man. He was sitting on a bench in front of our old haunt, Pitas in Paradise. We looped back to find a parking spot and walked over to listen to the young musician. He noticed us, but continued playing his song. When he finished the gathered crowd clapped and some walked away.
At 6:00AM on June 7th, U.S. Army SPC Ross Cameron attempted to turn a corner on a rainy Sunday morning only to miss the turn by less than a foot. His car caught a curb and rolled over a median, hitting two trees before landing upside-down in the opposite lane of traffic. His airbag deployed leaving behind a gruesome memory as he died of positional asphyxiation.
As we drove down Main Ave into Fargo we spotted a man with a sign on the corner of 2nd St. Shane turned to Nate and asked, “What about this guy?” Nate suggested we turn around to see what his sign said. After making another pass we noticed the sign read “VET NEEDS HELP GOD BLESS”.
The man removed his headphones and introduced himself as James from Philadelphia. “I’m just so happy today. I don’t even know why!” he said. We asked if he was hungry. “Am I hungry? Hell yeah, I’m hungry!” James didn’t turn down our dinner invite, and we walked together looking for two more hungry folks to fill up the back seat.
It was a Wednesday afternoon and Project Wildness was running into the first bad weather of the whole trip. Driving in and out of torrential downpours throughout the day created an ominous prediction of what our night would be like in the mountain forests of Wyoming. As we passed through Daniel Junction in southern Wyoming we noticed a man standing on the side of the road hitching in the rain. Nate turned to Shane and asked, “Should we pick him up?” Shane immediately responded, “Yes we have to give this guy a ride.”
Crested Butte was incredibly kind to us and the owner of Pitas In Paradise invited us back for lunch the following morning -- on the house! As we sat eating their incredible food, we talked about the work kitchen staff does with little to no recognition. Anyone who has worked behind those closed doors knows that when a cook makes a mistake the blame lands almost entirely on him/her.
It was obvious that we weren’t locals as we sat on the outskirts of the eatery. After feeling like awkward ghosts for a few minutes Shane turned to Nate and said, “We should buy the bar a round of beers.”
After a lengthy deliberation we chose a pizza and at the last minute Nate suggested we get anchovies on it because he had always wanted to try them. Shane countered by suggesting only getting anchovies on half the pizza.
There we were greeted by the charm and smile of a woman named Susana. Her attitude and positivity were contagious. She guided us through the menu, told us her favorites, and shared her infectious laugh all the while.
Earlier, we had discussed how difficult it would be to do housekeeping in a hotel. Each day they work to serve people who often do anything they can to ignore them. We’re probably all guilty of avoiding eye contact or conversation with the very people who keep our rooms clean while we explore new places. These workers receive all of the blame when a room isn’t up to your standards but usually no recognition when a room exceeds your standards.
For the past year and a half, I've lived in San Francisco on 33rd Avenue and Geary -- down the block from a little place called Sugarcane SF. The owner of Sugarcane SF, Phil, has always provided fresh food at a cheap price. To add, in my bag, every time, he's added a cookie or madeleine (until recently when he switched to melon/cantaloupe slices… I guess he's trying to promote my good health).
I quickly told the men about Project Wildness and Alexander’s gift and then I handed him a $100 bill, saying, “This is from Alejandro.” His reaction was incredible. He introduced himself as Stanley, as well as his friend Gordy and their dog, Chica. The most amazing part was that Stanley immediately told us that he was going to share the money with other people in need.
Shane asked her why she was selling the rolls and Rosella dove right into her story of how her and her friend were raising money for a trip to southeast Asia. They plan to raise money for the next 6 months and leave in January of 2016.
As we sat in Dolores Park enjoying burritos and beer, we were approached by a young man named Evon. He explained that his Boys & Girls Club football team was raising money to compete in a youth football tournament.
