Day 27e: My next long-lost Family … (05/11/2019)
I hobble-limp for several more miles all the way into the medieval-looking town of Lucens (a town with its own castle, no less!) and try to continue onward when the path becomes completely obscured by a large construction project — and the rains begin to fall heavily once more. I walk onward anyway and am only guessing about the way and the rain keeps falling harder and harder and I am quickly soaked to the bone … 🙁 … Fortunately of fortunatelies, a station wagon then rolls up and the driver slows down when I signal her for help. I tell her what I’m up to and that I think I have lost the path to Moudon and she doesn’t know the way either and offers me a ride. Rides in the direction of walking aren’t allowed on this particular pilgrimage, of course (Boy, did I ever want to get in that warm & dry car!), so I politely declined and continued to limp along through sheets of cold rain as she drove away …
And yet as was so often the case during my Walk, providence proved to be waiting just around the next bend, where the same woman, Vanda, was waiting as well … It turns out that her youngest son (Alessio) was hanging out with his friend and their bikes under an overpass there and that he had called Vanda to bring him some dry socks. I met up with them thereunder and we chatted awhile about my Walk and my desire to find the correct walking trail once more. It turns out that Alessio indeed knew where it was, noted that I had indeed taking a very wrong turn in the rain, and informed me that I was on the wrong side of the river altogether … 🙁
I sighed heavily upon hearing the news, and yet there was nothing left but to walk back the way I had come through the still pouring wetness. And yet no sooner had said sigh flowed forth from my lips than Vanda offered to take me back to her home to dry off a bit and drink a coffee ( :O ), and no sooner had we arrived at her home than her husband (Laurent, who was a professional cook, no less) arrived and offered to cook me some spaghetti ( :O :O ), and no sooner had I snarfed down that delicious meal (while conversing deeply and meaningfully with them both about my Walk and the Kindness I was trying to inspire thereby) than Vanda offered to let me stay the night in their guest bedroom ( :O :O :O ) — and this, even though her brother and his girlfriend were also coming over for dinner that very night!
And so it was that yet another long-lost Family was found on this long, strange trip. And so it was that my Gratitude — and indeed my hope for humanity — once more overflowed long into the night … 😀
“Under cloudy skies, when nothing seems to be above and darkness surrounds below, still there is Love — always Love. Maybe it’s for something and maybe it’s from someone, but Love is always there. It’s never done — ever!” ~ inspired by Jeb Dickerson
Please NOTE: The nice young man pictured above with Vanda & Laurent is not their youngest son Alessio, but rather their oldest son, Fabio, who the very next morning was Kind enough to not only show me the proper walking route to Moudon, but who actually walked with me all the way thereto … 😀 😀 😀
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