A stranger by the sea

This past holiday, we made a big trip up to the northeast to see all our relatives. We traveled by SUV with the two doggies and the whole trip lasted 3 weeks.

Part of the trip was spent in New Jersey visiting my grandma and aunt. They live about 10 minutes from the shore (the ocean, for you non-Jerseyites!), and a visit to the shore was on my list of things-to-do.

My sister, hubby and I drove to the beach, and I was able to get about 20 yards from the breaking waves via a new "boardwalk" that I could wheel on.

While I sat in my wheelchair looking at the ocean, my sister and the hubby walked a bit on the beach. It was unseasonable warm while we were there and even with the ocean breezes, I was comfortably cool.

A woman walked up behind me on the boardwalk on her way to the beach. She was dressed nicely in a coordinated track-suit, and we made some small talk.

"There isn't anything else like it, is there?", she said.

I agreed.

"I'm living in Texas now and this is one of the things I miss from the northeast", I said.

She went on her way down to the beach.

I noticed while she was walking that she was picking up shells. I assumed she was collecting them for herself.

I was wrong.

When she made her way back towards me, she came over and handed me her collected shells.

"Here, take these back with you to Texas.", she said.

I guess you can always depend on the kindness of strangers.


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