Phyllis

Does this woman need a dentist?

“Excuse me, can you help me get connected to the Internet?”

That is how I met one of the most interesting people on this trip so far.    Mackerricher Park does not have Internet (Gasp! Places like that still exist??), but fortunately there is a Starbucks only 4.5 miles from my campsite. This morning I got on my bike and rode there, ordered an iced latte (for the bonus points), and sat down to upload pictures and my blog.    After a few minutes, a lady came up and said she was having trouble getting connected to the Internet.  She had short black hair with hints of gray, a conservative tan jacket, and a small gold cross around her neck.  She asked if I would be able to help her out.   Glad to have someone new to talk to, I obliged and went over to her table.  She had a brand new Windows PC that was so new it still had the plastic film still on the screen.  It took me a few minutes to figure out what was wrong, and as I was working on it she said, “I just bought this computer, and maybe it wasn’t the right one for me.”  I could hear the uncertainty in her voice, but told her that I was sure I could get it working. It took a few minutes of fiddling with, but eventually a reset of her network card got the “You are connected to the Internet!” message to pop up. Her eyes lit up from behind her purple-framed glasses, and she seemed amazed that it was now connected.  “Thank you so much!  Can I pay you something for this?”  I told her that was not necessary, and that I was glad to help out.   She said that she had been feeling so dumb for not being able to get it working. Earlier she had tried to get help from another gentleman, and he couldn’t fix it. She said he seemed annoyed that she had asked him for help.  “After dealing with him, I just felt terrible and was about to give up.”  I showed her how to reset her network card in the future if she needed, and wrote down the steps in a little bright pink notebook she carried with her.    “Are you a teacher?” she asked me. 

“No. Actually I’m a swim coach.  And also a guy that is just driving around the country in a van,” I told her. 

She chuckled.  “How fun!  Where did you start from?”

I told her that I was just at the beginning of my trip, and that I left the San Luis Obispo area only a few days ago.  Amazingly, she said she had friends that lived in SLO, and that she was on her way to Paso Robles.  She was coming from Sacramento, and decided to take a coastal route to get there.  “Do you think I made a mistake going this way? It seems so long,” she asked me.

“Oh, you definitely made the right choice in going along the coast. It’s one of the most beautiful drives you’ll find.  Especially when you hit Highway 128 just ahead of here,” I reassured her.

We chatted a little bit more.  I found out that her name was Phyllis and that she goes to schools and teaches children the gold rush in California.  She retired from working as a museum guide for the California State Parks and Recreation Department.    She said that at one point in her career, she was working directly with Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was governor.  This connection to Arnold led to an amusing experience for her later on while she was in Austria.  She actually ended up meeting a gentleman who was promoting a large bodybuilding competition, and when it was discovered that she “knew” Arnold Schwarzenegger, the television cameras insisted on interviewing her.  They also had her present the medals to the winners of the competition. She kept trying to explain that she really did not “know” Arnold that well, but that fact was either lost in translation or completely ignored.

As we talked more, I found that Phyllis had an incredibly jovial personality.  At one point, she said she had something to show me.  She reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of fake, yellowed teeth and put them in.  She started talking with a funny southern accent, and said she said she loves to put those in and go up to unsuspecting people, asking them if they could recommend a good dentist.  “My sister has three pairs of these, and a different personality for each one.”

We laughed, and I told her about how I want to get one of those big, old black phones with the dial on it and the spirally cord that goes between the handset and the base, and then put it on the dashboard of my car and pretend to talk on it when I’m next to a police car.   “But it’s not a cell phone, officer, and I can’t get a hands-free option for it!”

“Oh, that’s good!” she exclaimed with glee.  “You should get one even older, with the separate ear piece and big microphone on it, and have the microphone piece come up from the dashboard.” 

I liked Phyllis.

We talked for about an hour, swapping stories and laughing. Eventually, she had to get on her way down the coast.  She had reservations at a hotel in San Francisco and didn’t want to miss it.  She apologized for taking up so much of my time, but I assured her that I really had no agenda to keep, and that meeting her was the highlight of my day.  Getting out and meeting new people makes life so much more enjoyable, and that is a big part of what has made this trip interesting for me.   She got up and I went to shake her hand to say goodbye, but she insisted on a hug.  And I think that was a better way to part. 

Tomorrow I’m heading up to Humboldt County and plan to stop at Avenue of the Giants.  I hope there is a Starbucks there!