Taken

wordofthedaychallenge: Pickpocket

Pickpocketing is stealing without detection. One is distracted and before you know it, your valuable asset has been taken. This happens to me frequently. When I travel, I get distracted and before I know it, my heart has been pickpocketed by what others may regard as the seemingly mundane.

During a regional trip a few months and I went to the local hotel for dinner. Typical of a small tourist coastal town, it had the usual addendum, the pub, that one had to walk through to get to the restaurant. Forget about gleaming white linen table cloth. This is down to earth country. I love visiting places like this! I’m always on the lookout for local stories. I’m curious who lived here, who made the town, their own. 

In the corner of the pub I noticed this simple and meaningful honour. In an instant I had a story about him in my mind, a stockman of course, who more than likely spent time at this pub quenching his thirst but also a man of, and for the community. I went back to my hotel room and searched for details about him. There wasn’t much but what I did find confirmed my perception. Pep was a stockman and judging from this honour in a small pub, he was larger than life in these parts. And, yes, this memorial, for a man who I never met, and those who created it, reached deep within and stole a piece of my heart when I was least expecting it.

The message I reflect on today is a simple one. Your heart is not always yours to give, sometimes, it can be taken surreptitiously. And, I’m okay with that.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird