Has anyone ever make you feel so welcome even if you haven’t met before? When life gives you such an opportunity to meet someone with open arms, you should be glad, but if that way of being expands towards your family, then grateful its the least to feel. 

Nowadays its a bit hard to encounter people who are willing to give a hand, to be a good host or just to offer a moment to get along. I’m not the kind of guy who has a extended list of friends but I may say, someone who has the blessing of meeting very good hearted ones. Of course there are some other that don’t fit the description, but they are on the forgotten list.

A family trip 

In 2015 my family and I made a well deserved trip. The plan had several stops from one point to another. The first place once landed included a visit to dear friend who offered her place for us to stay during the first nights. To her words and existence I owe so much, reason why my visit will not only expected happiness but a pleasure to share. But lets put that on a hold for another post. 

When we finally arrived to her house, a white tall man joint us just a few minutes after, lets call him Mike. He offered us a different place to sleep but more importantly, not to distort my friend’s environment. Why? She already had catch this man’s eye and attention. His body language betrayed any attempt to hide what was visible. And so, we went to settle in an apartment he owned close to her, mean while, his intention was accomplished.

If I’m not wrong, we stayed there for two nights, and we’ve met no more than three times, but enough to evidence that he was a good kind of guy.

He flew to the south

Few years after, she, my friend sent me a message announcing that she’ll be visiting the south, but this time it was going to be different, he was going to be flying with her. And so he did. Just a few days after, Peter, a friend of Mike, decided to come along to see this country but also to be here for his friend.

Of course Mike wanted to have a nice trip inside the Ecuadorian culture, but spending time close to her was much important, it was easy to see it. They spent time with her family, they visited different places and meanwhile he was cooking a decision that was going to change their lives. 

I have to say it now, there was a particular day where Mike, Peter and I met to visit some places in the city, and that day it became clear, Mike’s enthusiasm was floating in the air. Peter and I took advantage of a certain vulnerability to make fun of him. While their staying, Peter became his wing man, or may I say, his support.

A burger in Delray Beach

Only four years after we met for the first time, I once again had the opportunity to stay at my friend’s house as a guest, but then, she was not the only occupant of the place, Mike was there. In just few years, Peter passed the way, my dearest friend and Mike got married and so a new chapter in their life’s began its writing. Oh!, and she also became a grandma, a blessing for sure.

Again, while my visiting, Mike acted as he did in 2015, I was not wrong, his hospitality and attention made my staying a real pleasure. Since the first day he said it in a Spanish he seemed to enjoy: “mi casa es su casa”, a phrase taught in USA along with “¿Dónde está la librería?”. But the message was clear and he only not meant it, he proved it. 

May be two or three mornings he was in the kitchen and offered me everything in the fridge if I wanted to, and also prepared scramble eggs for both of us one day. But perhaps the shared moment I remember the most, was an afternoon we went to a nice place in Delray Beach to have lunch. There we had a Burger each but more importantly was the chat that lasted hours. We talked about many things: history, cultures, anecdotes of his life and of course, his compromise with her.

A day of blessings

It’s hard to swallow the idea that someone you appreciate isn’t going to be around anymore. Yeah, we did not lived close or had constant contact but somehow I knew of his existence and whether he was okay or not. I was recently pleased to see a post on his wall about a newspaper interview to his daughter. I felt a father’s pride in his daughter; perhaps I identified with him, and therefore I was very happy for him.

Today, words of blessing will be said towards his memory, I wont be there but my thoughts and wishes of Light to him and my friend will be as it has been before. If there is something I may say is: Thanks Mike for being there for her. To me, there is a lesson to be learned and a reason why we have to say good bye.

Until next time Michael D., it doesn’t matter if is Delray or somewhere else.