From The Storyteller
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Hello All: The world has so many pages to read that at times it is hard to put the book down. This was one of those times for me. Enjoy. Doug
Book “The world is a book, and those who stay home read only one page”, words from St. Augustine, who died in 430 CE. Wow! From a man, who lived and traveled between North Africa and what is now Italy roughly 1600 years ago, comes an ancient exhortation to experience the world’s diversity, which is as true today as it was then. Which caused me to think about Guam, and the trip Elaine and I took to visit our son, who was stationed there with the Air Force. The island is a major tourist destination for people from Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines offering them an opportunity to experience American culture, with its modern western city (Hagatna), mixed with tropical beaches, lush vegetation, and a huge selection of Asian and American food opportunities. Guam also has a K-Mart. During the visit our son drove us around the island showing us the sights. As we drove by the K-Mart, I noticed the parking lot was literally overflowing with tour busses. Realizing these busses must have been filled with people from those far eastern countries, I wanted to stop and go in to experience the people with their different interests, languages, and cultures while they shopped. When I asked him to stop, he just kept on driving. To my son, who had been stationed in both Japan and South Korea before being stationed in Guam, it was “just another K-mart”. To me it would have been like reading another page or two from the world’s book. Thus, it was that I missed an opportunity to read at least one new page in our world’s book. Moral: If you want to stop at K-Mart, be the driver. |