Asheville in the summer

A random act of spontaneity  in a trip to Asheville on a Tuesday in the summer.  

A wonderful family friend host who may be the most humble, selfless person I've ever met.  

Traveling with a roommate who has never been to Asheville, and me, a girl who returns to Asheville, NC for chaotic sanity.  

Later after arrival: A late night stroll downtown and met a group of people carrying a giant life-size bag of popcorn.  I pat the dog; i sit on the pavement;  I look over; I talk.  Next to me is a guy with a different presence.  He was calm.  We talked about life.  He decides to move from place to place with his wife and his dog to live by faith and not by sight.  We talk about special needs, because next week I am going to work at a special needs camp.  Special needs might be what is beautiful and what's  "normal" may be messed up.  We talked and talked, and then Malachai asked to pray over me.  I nodded.  It felt surreal, it made my heart hurt in the best possible way.  My friend and I said bye to the group of harmony and lolly gagged up to a interesting bar.  

Inside the bar were grungy colors invading spaces, a wooden top bar, old men, and women in all black or long skirts.  I squat on a stool.  My friend orders a drink as the bartender smiles genuinely.  My friend and I chatted about deep conversations of the struggles of good and bad.  Hers is a life always surrounded by good, easy life with a wonderful family and experiences, but now noticing how cruel others can really be.  And me, always seeing the good in people but never thought many really cared about me.  This past year has brought realizations of the amazing people surrounding my life and the extreme independence I strive off of  may be insecurities festering from old wounds.  Then in walked a guy we had seen earlier, a traveling kid.  He walks in sits down beside us, with gorgeous thick wavy hair.  Instead of asking us where we are from or what school we go to.... he asks what we were talking about with sincerity and joined the conversation.  serious conversations then goofy.  A light saber penis might have come up in conversation (maybe). we said goodbye after 3 hours.

The trip ended with another tour of Asheville by Mark and going to a chocolate bar before heading home for  the 5 hr trek, blasting some Jennifer Hudson with the windows rolled down in the car and my roommate and I singing to the top of our lungs. A wonderful trip it was.