239. | Officially fifty

I turned fifty yesterday.

I didn’t plan on writing about it at all, because my age is completely irrelevant to me.

But the evening turned into an unmissable story. In vain! My life is just like that now.

A lonely walk

When I crossed the border a few days ago, I met a nice young couple. They were Dutch. We talked for a good 10 minutes about who we were, where we came from and where we were going.

When it turned out that today was my birthday, they immediately asked how and with whom I was celebrating this occasion. I said no way and with no one. It’s not that big of a deal.

They thought so, so they immediately said that we could spend the evening together then. I liked the idea.

Yesterday I left around eight o’clock and texted them that I was ready to drink. They replied around ten o’clock with a voicemail (I haven’t really had such a birthday wish yet). But I had already gone somewhere else by then, so I didn’t celebrate with them.

I celebrated with someone else.

Dinner

Not for my birthday, but I sat down at a restaurant for dinner. I also ordered a beer with my meal.

When I was done, and I still hadn’t received an answer to my question to the guys, I decided to take a walk.

I walked in one direction on the long main street. After 3 km, I turned back. I sat down to play with my phone for a quarter of an hour. I wasn’t in a hurry.

The second, celebratory dinner

It feels like there are quite a few parameters to chance. When do I arrive somewhere at the right time?

As I headed home, I suddenly saw someone walking his friend out to a car and saying goodbye to him.

The friend got into his car at the moment I got there. The other man turned to me and already offered his hand for a handshake.

After I answered the questions about my name and where I was from, the man said, “Dear Steve, I’d like to invite you to celebrate with my family if you have time!”

I had time.

So after a few steps, he introduced me to the family. As his friend. They immediately sat me down, put food in front of me, and poured me a beer.

The family sat around a garden table. My new friend, his father, mother, wife, brother, daughter and sister-in-law. On the table there was a garden grill, plates of food, ice and beer.

Just yesterday I was thinking about what chicken feet might be like. We often had them too, but as far as I remember I never tasted them. Yesterday I would have tasted them. And there they were, chicken feet in front of me.

After a while I said I was full in vain. The pile just kept growing on my plate. Fortunately, there were many dogs around the table. One of them came up to me and kept putting one of his paws on mine and asking for food with a pleading look. I discreetly smuggled a few bites over to him.

When the candles on the cake were burning, they took me behind them too. It was a touching moment.

And the beer. The head of the family, my friend’s father, kept clinking glasses with me. It was our common language and we both spoke well. He showed me how long it took to finish the beer from the glass, and I showed him how to follow. The other characters kept refilling our glasses.

But in the meantime, we were still able to create joy with our 8-year-old grandson. The family said that he was very shy with strangers. That’s why I was very honored that he accepted me immediately.

He asked questions in English. He answered in English. The little boy was a student, but what he knew, he said very beautifully. He asked a lot of questions and showed me many of his favorite things on the phone.

My new friend was completely moved because – as he said – this was the first time he had heard his nephew speak in English. I told him that I had experienced the same thing when I heard my older daughter speak English for the first time.

The family also sang from time to time. It was magical to listen to them.

When I told them it was my birthday, my invitee gave me 100,000 KIP (1,600 HUF, 3.5 USD) despite all my protests.

It was a special experience to be with them. To talk. To listen to them. To see, to feel their presence.

It was especially interesting when I came. I showed my friend the song Imagine, which he had never heard before. Our conversation was at the point where this song came to mind. I hope that with this gift I returned their kindness in a worthy way…