An Unexpected Pleasure

Today we experienced one of those unexpected pleasures of travel. We attended 10:30 Mass at St. Mary church. On our way in we met a nice young priest, Fr. Gomez, who welcomed us to the liturgy. On our way out, Fr. Gomez asked us how we liked the liturgy and when we asked what was worth seeing in Greenwich, he suggested driving down to the harbour area. No sooner had we arrived there than another car pulled up and we struck up a conversation with the driver, Jack, and his companion Rob, a man who is physically handicapped. We asked Jack where we could get out and walk around near the water and he suggested Hobb Point in Old Greenwich and gave us directions to get there. As I was talking to Siri, Jack rolled down the window and told us they were going there and they would lead us. We followed and were treated to a tour we would never have experienced had we not met Jack. To get to the public beach area requires a payment. When Jack pulled up to the pay gate he told the lady we were from California and were out here celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary. She asked him if we were with and told him to say "yes" which he did and she waved us through. We saw some beautiful homes and the Long Island Sound. We ended our time with Jack and Rob at the Sweet Pea Bakery in town where we treated them to cheesecake and coffee as a small gesture of thanks for their kindness to us. We found out that Jack has been a caregiver and companion for Rob for about half a year and gets him to the gym and out walking 4 days per week. To understand Rob when he speaks takes some effort, but we did find out he is a Mets fan while Jack is a Yankee fan. In spite of that divide, it was obvious to us that they are good friends and that their friendship can withstand their opposing tastes in baseball. It was very rewarding to see a man in our age bracket being of service to Rob. When we parted, we thanked them both for our unexpected pleasure and gave them both a big God Bless.