A Walk to Remember

 He has this very bold presence when he looks at you, the way he sits, and stands up. I told my friends at the accommodation, "he is the Tom Selleck of Australia." that pretty much sums it up very well." Good looking, charming, well traveled, an intellectual, and a great conversationalist. 

I wanted to take a break from my accommodation, so I ran his errands with him dropping off his car and picking up his dog, Ripley, from Daniella who is French. She speaks in the car about the American girl in her dance class who is really loud and obnoxious. I hope that is not the description for me from others-yikes.

We stop by Fiume to have a Flat white with oat milk. I just order whatever he orders because I know he drinks what is good. The waiter is catering to us clearing our cups and filling our water-they never do this in cafes. He was clearly a source of power and intimidation whether it was good or bad-I was not sure yet.

He dropped me at the Butter Factory where I got a disappointing piece of Hummingbird cake. I first ordered the Macademia toast and that came out burnt and so hard I could break a tooth.  And so it continues, I have no luck with restaurants. Everyone else had great food coming out on their plate-I was not quite sure why I was getting such an attitude from the server and staff there other than the fact that Indians did frequent this café and maybe they were giving the staff a difficult time so I was grouped with them…who knows.

We headed to Dorrigo where we did hiking and bird watching. He had a strong hobby with bringing his bincoulars and watching birds. He would position my body in the right place placing his hands on me and give me the binoculars so I can see.
I kept staring at him thinking “ he is very handsome, But he is way out of my age group.”

Could something develop or happen here?”

We stopped by Dorrigo falls and visited the historical and charming town of Dorrigo visiting Peaches bakery – a small French bakery which opens up and then closes when they sell everything. We went by an anitques shop and met Erika who was so passionate about her store. David asked, “What kind of profit do you make?”

Her response was, “ not much, but I love what I do.”

She showed me a variety of typewriters and I realized that was my new investment for 2025 as well as a bike if I move to India.

She was telling the story of how the store started by one man who loved to recreate bikes out of old parts. I recorded the whole conversation because she was so kind and passionate about her job. They had lots of other cute stores I wondered in and also went to a shop selling homemade curry. I was hoping we would stop, but he was on a mission to keep it moving.

We stopped by a Mountain viewtop that was beautiful and then drove through the Promise land, which was full of rivers, creeks, and natural swimming holes. I enjoyed the lush green fields and the drive was great.

I was not super impressed with the place as it just reminded me of the woods with rivers. I guess I am really into swimming in the ocean.

He showed me his private place for swimming and there were a group of kids that came and took over the spot. He seemed a big upset and was commenting on how dangerous it is to jump off the ropes if you were not familiar with how they work. He told the young girl a story about a girl who died in New Zealand. AGAIN I could tell that she was quiet initimdated by him and seemed a bit creeped out. Ripley, the dog, was happy as could be playing in the water and skipping through the trails.

We then went to his house where I sat and worked on writing and he went to the store to make me peanut tofu stirfry.

His house was in the middle of the best area with a backyard of cows and lush green grass. A beautiful 2 story house with all kinds of rooms and an incredible terrace. It had this old charm mixed with his personality of artwork and bird paintings.

He told me the story of his wife who took her own life and that was a difficult pill to swallow as he said, “She just could not go on any longer.” The sadness was eating her alive. She thought that everything was her fault carrying a huge burden all the time.

This made me feel like myself with this feeling of not being CONTENT. This ends badly for many people and I am not sure if I am much different than her.

She was an artist with many of her pieces sitting in the home.

He bought me some red grenache/syrah wine and we sat at the table having more amazing discussion-if everyone could have these cultural exchanges that are just mind blowing.

We were listening to jazz music from all different genres mixed with different cultures and countries. We just melted into the music with it being soul touching and stimulating for the mind.

 

At the end, he held me in his arms and we just sat there peacefully and I felt content in that moment….Content with a connection that was between two souls regardless of age…We had a lovely time and he felt grateful for that moment and so did I….so did I.

Being present with someone and feeling good in your soul is what keep the world going round. PCR