Comments on: Unexpected Encounters With Intriguing People

By: Brenda Hansen

Brenda Hansen — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:26:24 +0000

Thank you for responding to me. I guess what made me mad about what our “mayor” said was that he would tell hunters where to go so they never come back. It makes us sound as though we are not polite to people who come into our town. Also, we are not in need of city water and sewer. We are small town and that would be ridiculous.

By: Earl

Earl — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:26:12 +0000

Hello Katy – I’d like to thank you as well for your comment on this post and for the invitation to visit your town! Spending the 4th of July out there sounds very tempting indeed!

And I also think I need to clarify one of the lines from my post. When the mayor referred to the town as ‘bankrupt’, he was not referring to the individual people and their incomes. He was simply speaking of the city government’s lack of funds and how that made it difficult for the town to install such things as a city-wide sewage system. The mayor never mentioned anything about the income of those living in the town and never mentioned that it was a poor place at all.

Either way, I have no doubt that Brookston is a wonderful, caring community! And if I am able to make it out that way at some point, I hope you don’t mind if I do get in touch in with you!

By: Earl

Earl — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:18:50 +0000

Hello Brenda – Thank you so much for your comment. Although, I do believe that you mis-interpreted my post. Not once did I or your mayor mention that you did not have a wonderful community over there in Brookston. And I’m not sure which part made you feel that the mayor disrespected the town.

In fact, at the end of the post I finished by stating that I would “seriously consider taking him up on his invitation” to visit the Brookston area. If he had painted such a bad picture of the town, I certainly wouldn’t have thought about visiting!

In the short amount of time I spent with your mayor, he spoke very positively about Brookston and repeatedly encouraged me to take a trip to experience it’s beauty and charm for myself, not once describing it as a ‘terrible’ place.

By: Brenda Hansen

Brenda Hansen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:39:11 +0000

Think this is great site, but he should have left when he wanted to because because the “Mayor” in our town is a joke! We have a wonderful community! What mayor would disrepect the town he is in? We have a wonderful town! Whenever anyone needs help, everyone is there to help. For expample when our river over flowed, people came to sand bag the houses that were in trouble. I am so mad that the mayor made our beautiful little town sound so terrible!

By: Katy pirila

Katy pirila — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:17:21 +0000

I’m am a child who has lived in the town of brookston all my life I have been raised in that town. So you know our town is awesome and not exactly how our major has explained. Our town is very awesome. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is willing to help another out no matter what it is. If you think about it our town is like a great big family. And honestly our town is not poor. And if people are they make enough to get by and some. To me I would never want to live any where else we have the most amazing town in the whole u.s. We would like if you came to our town so we can really show you brookston. And if I would suggested a day I would say the 4th of July because we have the cutest parade you will ever see also people come from many places to see our fireworks. We have better fireworks than most bigger cities.

By: Earl

Earl — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:30:41 +0000

Hey Suzy! Thanks so much for your comments. People always ask me if it is difficult being away from friends while traveling so much. I always tell them exactly what you just wrote – I would never have even met most of my friends or most of the interesting people I’ve come across had I never started traveling. And that’s an incredible reward in my eyes…and it seems in yours as well!

By: Suzy

Suzy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:26:21 +0000

This is a great post Earl. The imagery created in each story is remarkable. I love those characters you encounter while traveling. They are people that you would have never even had some sort of connection with had you not traveled. You become forever changed by them. Thanks so much for sharing these with the world. .-= Suzy´s last blog ..How to Travel Like a Temperamental Ginger =-.

By: Earl

Earl — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:56:16 +0000

Thanks Adam! Speaking with random people/strangers is a funny thing. Most of us want to meet new people yet most of us are also so uncomfortable trying to speak with new people. So all it takes is someone to say the first few words, perhaps using the method that Osborne mentioned above, and the barrier is instantly broken. And the more people we meet, the more memorable interactions we have in life. And as you said, that is half the fun!

By: Earl

Earl — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:46:11 +0000

Hey Sandi – it of course can be difficult at times meeting new people and certainly being a remote village like you are doesn’t make it any easier! But I would agree with you that anyone who makes their way to Uganda is going to have a unique story and is probably well worth interacting with, as are most of the local people in your village I would assume.

By: Sandi

Sandi — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:41:17 +0000

I was really hoping Jan Yasuda looked more like the nun at Khalighat.

After living in Uganda for 7 months, it actually takes a little effort to make eye contact and smile at a “newbie” in my small little village- plus becoming more socially awkward each day doesn’t help. Although the new white person in town may only be here a few days, they do have a story and if a person is all they way over here, it’s usually an interesting one to be told
.-= Sandi´s last blog ..Holidays and Beyond… =-.