TheBanyanTree: Hobby

[Maria Gibson]

My friend April says I collect people.  Not in the 'put them up and get 
them down only for parties' collecting, no, she means that wherever I 
go, I find people to like and befriend.  In fact, I often think of it as 
finding people to cherish.  And, in turn, I find they like me, too.  I 
can usually remember their name even some months later if I see them 
again and it is a lot of fun to see the look on their face when I can 
recall their name and something they told me about themselves.  Most 
likely it won't be what they would have considered a significant fact 
about them but something about it struck me enough to remember it.  So, 
yeah, she's right.  I collect people and their stories and the bits of 
their lives they are willing to share.  It means an awful lot to me; I 
don't take it lightly.  I'm a little amazed at some of the things I've 
been told, especially from people I've only just met.  And I don't care 
if it's something they tell every person they meet and some twice, they 
told me and I hold the information with privilege.  It seems I collect 
people, their stories, their pain and their joy.

Kim is a man.  A man with a girl's name but he is very happy with his 
name and wears it with pride.  He fills ATM's for a living, has been a 
martial artist for thirty years, works for FEMA when he can giving them 
estimates in disaster zones and sings karaoke with the most gusto and 
verve I have ever witnessed.  I have seen some gusto for it but none to 
match Kim.  He rushes up on stage, grabs the mike stand and plops it 
square in front of his 6'4, 280 pound frame.  He owns the stage, the 
mike and the song.  He dances while singing and throws his arms wide 
with his head back and belts, baby he *belts* out a tune.  There is a 
joy for life in his every move, an appreciation for those around him and 
a keen observation of his fellow man.  Kim, it seems, collects people as 
well and has a knack for connecting with them.  Truly, I think he's 
amazing.  I met him outside of my favorite dive (where else?) while I 
was on my phone.  I saw two guys come out and the big one gripped up the 
smaller one in a bear hug from behind and proceeded to do something 
which looked very chiropractor-ish.  I handed my phone to the recipient, 
when he was back on solid ground, asked him to keep my friend company 
for a moment, and asked the big guy to domenextdomenextdomenext!!!!  
Wow.  I got a *great* massage right there in front of a bar as my pal 
had to chat it up with a stranger.  By the time Kim was done with me, I 
was rubber legged with relief as my tight muscles had no choice but to 
give up the ghost to his giant hands.  Amazing, simply amazing.

Last night, after singing my favorite Neil Diamond song, Holly Holy, Kim 
told me about his father.  His dad had Alzheimer's for the last two 
years of his life, at the very least that was how long it was 
diagnosed.  When dad finally became ill enough with the disease for it 
to be very apparent, his journey down that path was very fast.  He soon 
didn't know his children, an all too common symptom that is very, very 
painful to endure.  Kim decided that from the beginning, he wasn't going 
to try and convince his father of the facts or try to make him stay in 
our world.  He got on the lifeboat with his dad and set sail to parts 
unknown.  He was whomever his father thought he was at any given time.  
Very often he believed Kim to be one of his brothers and frequently 
mistook him for the brother that owed him 500$.  Kim said he thought 
about it and realized that for his dad to remember that incident and 
still be upset by it, it had to be significant to him.  The old grudge 
was laid to rest when Kim gave him five one dollar bills which the dad 
took for one hundred dollar bills along with an apology that it took so 
long to repay the debt.  His father counted it, put it in his pocket and 
never again mentioned it.  What a precious gift that was to have had an 
unresolved hurt laid to rest and to afford the opportunity for one 
brother to forgive another.

I love meeting people.  I recount their stories to my friends with 
interesting results.  I have been asked how I am able to find such 
interesting people all the time.  Well....a lot of the time, I don't, 
actually.  I've met some boring folks, some folks with only one thing on 
their mind and even a few meanies.  I just keep going until I meet the 
good ones.  I guess it's a little like wheat and chaff and what a person 
is willing to go through to get to the good stuff.  Another friend told 
me that I always think the people I meet are the best.  The best cabbie, 
the funniest waiter, the coolest ATM dude in the world.  Yep, that's 
true, too.  I'm very easy to please because I accept at face value what 
I'm told and I'm fascinated by people in general.  You can think I'm 
cheap to keep and too easily entertained or you can believe I find the 
best in every person I meet.  In either case, I do happen to run into 
some great people.  I like them, they like me and we're all happy.

As hobbies go, people are fun.

Maria