Day 108q: The mercy of Mohammad … (August 15, 2019)
After pausing for a time on the raised front stoop of the Ascension Greek Orthodox Catholic Church (and thinking at first that I would simply lay down there to sleep), I stumbled on into the late night; eventually into the township of North Bergen, where I tried to sleep on two different city benches without success. Weaving from fatigue at that point, I eventually made it (around midnight) to The Platter King, a small Mediterranean bistro owned and operated by a kind man named Mohammad. He was already closing up shop for the night by the time I wobbled into his place and asked him for some water and a few moments of rest – only cursorily explaining what I was doing & why. I really didn’t think I would be able to stay there at all (it was after midnight, after all), and yet – to my bewondered surprise – instead of rejecting me or offering only the aforementioned, Mohammad sat me down at a booth and proceeded to lavish me honor & kindness (including a delicious vegan falafel platter!) …
“Travel, for me, is a breathtaking experience; a renewed humbling for the Soul and an ever-refreshed reminder that we are quite literally all in this together … When I am walking as a more pure pilgrim, my legs become the embodiment of my solitude — my individual path – my personal uniqueness. And yet it is my arms that reflect who I truly am in these moments. Arms that reach out to embrace my brothers & sisters – arms that reflect togetherness and interconnection and a mutual belonging to the human race. My legs make me who I am on my pilgrimage; they create my solitary path. And yet it is my arms that make me who I belong to; it is my arms that connect me to the world.” ~ inspired by Michael Holbrook & Nicos Hadjicostis
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