September 27, 2016 – Port Townsend, Washington

Well, this is one way to spend a vacation.

Cleaning dead rats out of a basement doesn’t exactly meet my ideals of a good time, but when you visit a fellow traveler at their host’s place…

It hasn’t all been bad. Organizing, cleaning, moving. Landscaping. Roofing. And then there are the activities that Miri has provided for me:

Exploring Port Townsend, a beautiful little city on the Northeast tip of the Olympic peninsula.

Volunteering at the local film festival and, in return, watching some films for free.

Camping out on a nearby beach overnight.

Due to a change of plans back in Bozeman (leaving the farm one month early), I decided it would be nice to come visit Miri out in Washington for a few days. She’s staying with an elderly lady who is transitioning into a smaller living space, therefore needing to rid herself of things she has acquired over the past number of God-knows-how-many years.

While eating dinner at a local Chinese restaurant one night before volunteering, Miri brought up an interaction that we had outside of Glacier National Park while filling the car up with gas. We were approached by a traveling man that appeared to be hitchhiking. We were almost pulling away, and when he asked for some spare change, I told him what I tell everyone that asks me for money – “I’m sorry, I don’t carry cash.” This is and was a true statement; I typically do not carry cash when I go places.

I had forgotten about this encounter completely.

Miri claimed that I was very short with this man. She said it wasn’t important that I didn’t have money to give, but that we could have offered him some of our food we brought for the overnight camping trip in the park. She thought it was inhumane to treat him the way I did. I defended my general position on giving away money by using excuses such as, “How do I know that people won’t just use the money for drugs,” which is my primary concern in cases like this.

We didn’t speak for a while. I paid the check and we left to go volunteer at the festival. No words until afterwards when we were walking back home. There were apologies on both ends, but she was right. Her passion for fighting against social injustice is a driving force in her life, and I love her for that.

And for how she challenges me. And for how she keeps my ego in check.

And for making me realize that I need to be more human to humans.

“Humankind would improve if we concentrated less on being human and more on being kind.” – Ashwin Sanghi