Evening Trike Ride!

I haven't written a blog for quite some time now because, to be quite honest, I've been doing nothing but working my fat rear end off.

Last night, I had the rare pleasure (because I've been working like a donkey these days) of going for a ride on my trike. It was a beautiful evening, and I must tell you that I enjoyed every second of it. I had no idea what was to come at the end of my ride, but it was, without a doubt, the best interaction that I've had in a very long time.

 My normal evening ride is from Woods Hole up to the bridge with a stop at all of the beaches (Chapaquoit Beach, etc.). I had the great luck of stopping at Old Silver Beach and encountered a crew of about 20-25 young people having a ball, as they should be doing at their young age. A “crew” of young folks, probably 18 to about 24, were whooping it up on the beach with this great sound system playing their preferred rap music. I have to tell you that my interaction with this young group just made my year.

One of the people that I met, a very good-looking young fellow whose name is Kaiel. This young man was not only very handsome and very tall, but he was also astute, well-spoken, and highly intelligent.

We spoke about life in general and what it's like to be a young person in today's culture. In my opinion, it cannot be easy for these young people, regardless of family finances, intellectual capacity, or anything else. But this young man certainly impressed me with his intellectual horsepower and his grasp of what is real and not real in a social media-driven world.

I am hoping that I have the pleasure of further conversation with this very intelligent young man. I am sure that I can learn a lot from him about what today's world is like and how very difficult it is to be young in a world that is topsy-turvy both politically and in every other way.

 At my age, it is really a gift for me to be able to speak to young people who have a grasp of what the world is like for them. Speaking to these young folks is a rare window into the way the world works these days, and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate their thoughtful ideas and that they felt comfortable enough with this old lady to speak to me at all!

Kaiel most certainly opened my eyes to the difficulty that young people have navigating a world that changes from day to day, from bad to worse, and a world that is occasionally hopeful.

After having an amazingly interesting conversation with my new friend Kaiel, I had the pleasure of meeting a young Brazilian woman whose name is B. To say that this young woman was beautiful is a gross understatement; she is positively stunning. Also highly intelligent, she had the demeanor of a much older woman in that she was very, very polished and just lovely to speak to.

B was interested in going on a ride on the trike with me. Fortunately, I had a pink helmet in the trunk, which I gladly gave her, and off we went to Chapoquoit Beach for her first ride on a motorcycle. I did warn her that she should never get on the back of a motorcycle with a young man because, unfortunately, young men tend to want to show off a little, which puts the passenger in a dangerous situation. B and I started planning a get-together with about 20 of the young folks that I met last evening. This ought to be fun, but it's also going to be somewhat expensive and a lot of work. However, the pleasure of their company will be totally worth it.

I had such a great time with this crew of kids, and I really do admire all of them for the way that they handle themselves in this big bad world.

Julia