Stand By Me

I was the new kid in high school and I desperately needed a friend. Three other teenagers — (not their real names) Teddy the Playboy, Nervous Bob and Lazy Lenny befriended me. They saw me eating my lunch and they asked me to hang out with them. Well, you know the story — lost boy meets other lost boys and they form a bond. If you watched the movie “Stand By Me” that’s what it was like.

I was the tallest and Teddy was the shortest. Bob and I had acne riddled all over our faces. Lenny always looked sleepy but he was secretly the spoiled rich kid whose father ran a small factory. Teddy was the care-free, good looking joker who was the only one who would have the guts to approach a girl and not get tongue-tied. If there were a pretty woman in front of me, I would run away. Bob would giggle first and then run away. Lenny … well Lenny would walk away slowly and disappear … never again to be seen by man or beast. The four of us discovered LIFE outside the regiments of school work. Other than sharing our misunderstanding of the mysteries of women, we had nothing else in common. But we enjoyed being foolish togther. The following school year I was placed in another section. I never got to hang out with them anymore. Decades passed.

* * * * *

Last year, I got a call from a quivering voice who claimed he was a friend: “It’s Teddy, do you remember me? We used to hang out in high school.” He was apologetic he didn’t want to call but he was at the end of his rope and desperation forced the phone call. I comforted him saying I was glad he called. He said he lost his job because of Covid, had no friends nor family, but he was going to train to be a forklift operator in San Francisco. He had dried up his resources and had not eaten for days.

“Could you spare some money?” he asked.

Would you have fallen for a line like that? All those years and now he begs for money. I did. In fact, my wife and I agreed to help him out with a sizeable chunk. I told him he should go to a Bible-believing church and seek refuge. Maybe God will meet him there. He said that he was familiar with a church and said that he would. I prayed with him on the phone.

* * * * * *

I got a shock early this week. I heard through the grapevine that Teddy had contracted Covid. He was gone. I was distraught. A part of my childhood died. Poor poor Teddy.

The next day, I got a text from another old friend. This time it was Bob. He wanted to tell me about Teddy. They had been very close. Teddy had been homeless since 2016 and he suffered with severe malnutrition, was hospitalized and diagnosed with depression, lung cancer and blood clot in his brain. His suffering has ended. I guess It was a good time to go.

Bob and I mourned in our texts. We apologized to each other for not keeping in touch. And then Bob mentioned he accepted Jesus as his saviour in 2018. Unless you are a believer, you will probably not understand this, but I was overjoyed. This is the main thing we have in common now. We hope to meet the next time he comes around in Los Angeles. What a beautiful day that will be.

I reflect at the different paths the 4 of us took. One path led to suffering and an early death. Two other paths split and then converged with Christ. (Teddy might have wound up on the same path but we will never know this side of heaven.) I never heard what happened to Lenny. I pray that he too will wander and meet us at same path.

Where are your friends? Are you in the right path? Are you waiting for them to join your path or are they waiting for you?

TGIF people!
Raoul

“Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
— C.S. Lewis

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA for this joke.

Video of the Week 

Thanks to Ed of Makati, Greater Manila, Philippines for this amusing video. I didn’t know Warren Buffet could sing.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Rodney of Manitoba, B.C.

Thanks to Mel of Washington DC for these Herman jokes which made me laugh out loud.

The post The Shower appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Symbolized by the golden wattle flower, the kangaroo, the emu and the opal, the so-called island continent, like its indigenous emblems, also has its own colorful lingo, the everyday vernacular of the resident Aussie.

Escaping winter back home to enjoy a brief second summer along Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, I picked up a few colloquialisms of Oz during my 24-day stay. Like, “Have a Captain Cook,” which means to have a look around, a brief inspection, in apparent honor of Captain James Cook, the British explorer/cartographer who discovered and mapped the eastern shores of Australia for the Crown in the late 16th Century, liked what he saw and the rest is history.

One of the places I enjoyed having a “Captain Cook” was during my walks along parts of the Coastal Pathway (CP). Stretching 96km (57.6 mi.), the CP is a shared walkers, joggers and cyclists route, meandering from Pelican Waters in the south to Tewantin up north, that keeps pace alongside the Coral Sea and some of Queensland’s picturesque beaches — like, Noosa, Coolum, Mudjimba, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba and Moffat — through tree-lined parks and around loads of leisure areas.

Based in Maroochydore, on the ninth floor of the Duporth Riverside luxury apartment complex, where the Maroochy River empties into the Coral Sea, I had ready access to the CP. Here are just a few of my recommended “Captain Cook” moments.

Under a bright-blue sky accented by puffy-white clouds, head through Cotton Tree Park, past the Boat Shed — my favourite fish restaurant with great sea views — up to Alexandra Headland, along the busy esplanade fronting super-clean Mooloolaba Beach — including its “Loo with a View” — then down to the port.

Hopping off the CP, pay a short visit inside the Mooloolaba Fish Market, the Sunshine Coast’s largest seafood retailer. Don’t worry about the long queue, Aussies of all stripes will politely wave you up to the ice-filled counters to let you get your camera lens eye-to-eye with some of the creatures of the deep that were brought to the surface just before sunrise.

And, finish this leg of the CP, with all ten of your toes intact, by enjoying a Pipeline Pale Ale brewed right in neighboring Alexandra Headland.

The Sunshine Coast doesn’t lack for world-class beaches, like Coolum, the home base of pro surfer Julian Wilson. The beach’s consistent waves and glassy waters beckon surfers and body boarders alike, not to mention sun worshipers in all shapes and sizes.

A short climb along the CP boardwalk, loaded with camera-ready overlooks, you arrive at Point Arkwright with its magnificent view down to Marcoola and it’s three inviting rock-enclosed sandy coves.

On your walk back, stop in at Coolum’s Stellarossa along lively Elizabeth St. for a plate of lemon pepper calamari and a couple of Little Creatures.

Spend a lazy morning into afternoon exploring Noosa, the Sunshine Coast’s most fashionable resort town. Stroll along Hastings, its impressive high street, where you can shop ‘til you drop, dine al fresco or stop, yet again, for a cold one. End your visit by stretching it out along the scenic and wide Main Beach, from Noosa Head to the breakers.

Whichever sections of the Coastal Pathway you explore, be sure and pack a camera so you can document all those “Captain Cook” moments for family and friends back home.

As the sand inside the proverbial hourglass trickles down to the final few grains, it’s time for me to sadly say “Hooroo” (goodbye) to the land Down Under and all of my new-found mates. Nothing short of spectacular, my 24 days exploring Queensland’s laid-back and super-clean Sunshine Coast — where it’s beautiful one day, perfect the next — was the vacation of a lifetime.

Back soon, I reckon!

The post Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: The Coastal Pathway appeared first on Traveling Archive.