Small world 9,000 miles away
Lynn Gossett of Dana Point had never read
this column until two weeks ago. The word
"Spain" in the headline is what caught her eye.
In that column, readers had shared their opinions
on whether my partner Greta and I should go to
Spain on our romantic Easter week vacation, in light
of the
terrorists' bombings of three Spanish train stations.
The column was of interest to Lynn and her husband
John because they were faced with the same decision
as Greta and I.
The Gossetts had also planned to go to Spain over
the Easter holiday, taking their three boys - Garrett,
16,
Nate 14, and Jonathan 13. "We thought Spain during
Holy Week would be a culturally rich experience for
the boys," e-mailed Lynn.
After the terrorists' attacks, John and Lynn asked
friends and
relatives whether they should go and then decided
to not let terrorists ruin their vacation.
They flew to Barcelona where they spent two days,
then flew to Malaga and drove to Nerja, a city of
whitewashed buildings about the size of Dana Point
on the Mediterranean's Costa Del Sol.
Once settled into their rented villa, John and Lynn
went to a grocery store (Supermercado) to stock up.
Last July, Greta and I made plans to go to Spain
during Greta's Easter vacation from teaching this
year for a romantic getaway. We planned to travel
through Spain by train.
When the bombs exploded in Madrid's Atocha train
station, through which we were traveling twice, we
cancelled our trip. Then, we rethought our decision
and decided to go but to travel by car
instead.
We flew to Madrid where we spent two days. Next we
drove to Granada and from there to Nerja where
we rented an apartment.
The driving directions to the apartment were
confusing. We couldn't find the place: up and
down hills, dead-end and one-way streets, poor
signage, blind and dangerous intersections --
back down to the main road.
Frustrated, we decided to go to the Supermercado
to find a telephone and get directions.
Returning to the car, we heard, "Hey Tom Blake."
Greta and I had never met the Gossetts. They
recognized
me from being in my deli and from seeing my photo
that accompanies this column. After a brief
conversation,
we wished each other safe trips. The Gossetts were
traveling to Seville the next day and we were
returning
to Madrid two days later.
Later that afternoon, Greta and I "lucked into" a
parking
space at the bustling three-mile-long Burriana Beach
so we decided to wet our feet in the Mediterranean.
The Gossetts were enjoying the beach and saw us again.
At that point, we all decided our meetings were fate
and had a young man from England take a group photo
of the seven of us from Dana Point gathered on
Burriana
Beach 9,000 miles away a week ago Wednesday.
So remarkable was running into the Gossetts on the
only
day we were both in Nerja, the picture's been posted
on
the photo wall of fame in Tutor and Spunky's Deli.
Comments
Suzie Brooks, Laguna Niguel, "I'm betting (along
with my friends) that Joe Follick was asking
out women at least 15 to 20 years younger.
Next time give the age of the female so we know
whether Joe has the right to sing the blues."
Response: If age was a factor, why all of
the kissing and hand holding?
Janet Whitcomb, Rancho Santa Margarita,
"Spending $75 on a first date isn't necessarily
carte blanche for other activities as well. Perhaps
people seeking long term relationships need
to complete a class in First Date 101." Response:
Joe just felt she sent mixed signals.
|
