Friendly People

Today is Monday, August 17,2009. The sun is shining but it is quite cool outside and inside. Glen has even closed the windows already.
Last Friday we spent the afternoon at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse. We are docents there and usually go on the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons. However during the month of August, we did not go on our regular days. The second Tuesday we had family here and the fourth Tuesday we had gone to visit our daughter's family in Paradise, California. How could I say no to Suzanne when she needed our help AND we had the day free?
We both enjoy being there and visiting with the people who come to visit the Schoolhouse Museum. There are travelers from all over the world. We both enjoying talking with them. Glen usually stays toward the back of the classroom (by the door and the bell rope) and I stay up in front, either at the desk or on the recitation bench.
Two young boys came in with their parents and sat at the desks, all four of them. After a few minutes the boys came up to ask me if they could have their pictures taken while writing on the board. Of course, why not? I suggested they write their names. One was Ofir and the other was Nir.
As I asked them about their names, they told me they were born in Israel. By that time the parents had come to talk to me also. People love to tell their stories and I love to hear them.
This young couple were both born in Russia, went to Israel with their families and met there. They married, had twin sons, and now live in California. Such a beautiful family, ready smiles and having a good time together in Old Sacramento.
Another family was from Mexico. Three sisters with their families had brought their mother and father to Sacramento on a sight seeing trip. One of the sisters lives in southern California, the rest live in Mexico. The cousins were having a great time together, just like our grandchildren do when they are together. I usually ask who is the best at speaking English. In this case they all pointed to two of the children. However, most of them had very good English and we had a very nice visit.
We had many visitors throughout the afternoon. Most of the time there were 20 to 30 people milling around looking at the various displays and talking with us. Glen invites the older boys to ring the bell. They like that. Once someone starts, he has a line up. We have to ring the bell properly so as not to pull the rope loose. He is very good about giving the instructions and standing by to watch.
Near the end of the day our visitors had dwindled in number and there was just one lady looking carefully at everything in the room. I engaged her in conversation and she had a most interesting story to tell.
She is from England and is on a world tour. She travels mostly by herself, sometimes joins a travel group. She loves to climb mountains, has climbed Kilamanjaro and Mt. Everest. And this week she climbed Half Dome in Yosemite. She has been traveling since March and will return home in March. This is her second trip. She visited 27 countries in 18 months on her first trip. It was very interesting to hear her stories.
Of course, I asked her if she had a web site. I discovered that she records her adventures on a site called "yourtraveljournal." I logged on to it, checked it out, and will go back to it to read more carefully. It was fascinating to hear her stories.
Every time we are at the Schoolhouse it is just that way. So many wonderful people in the world. So many interesting stories. So many beautiful children. So many fine experiences. I do love people. I once said that I collect people rather than things. And I enjoy my collection.
That's all for today. Glen has apples cooking on the stove - homemade apples. They smell so good and they will taste just right for breakfast.