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Decent Humans Sighting!!!

Yes, it’s days like this I post about to remind myself of when the days full of jerks come along. In fact, it’s a very important thing to me to post about good people, so I am doing it despite deciding to limit myself to a couple of posts a day.

Tonight I met with Lime for coffee; because it was raining, I took a taxi there and home, and I happened to be wearing a pair of pants I’ve not worn in ages, which are my monk pants. They’re just like what monks wear, except for the color, and they’re nice and light enough for early autumn,weather like now where it’s not cool but no longer broilingly hot either.

Well, the pockets suck in these pants, and it seems I left my cell phone in the taxi. I didn’t notice till after a stop at the local market, though, and by the time I got home about twenty minutes had passed. I figured maybe the driver might have found it by then and could come give it to me for the cost of a cab fare.

But I’d left it on vibration mode, as I usually do, and when I called, nobody answered. Believe me, I let it ring for about ten minutes straight. Well, anyway, I got on my computer and called Lime, and told her what had happened. She tried calling as well, and managed to get someone—an older woman who wanted to meet tomorrow evening to give it to me. Lime agreed to this, and then tried to phone me; but of course, my house phone line was busy because by then I was trying the number again. The woman answered my call and understood my broken Korean enough to get the idea I was desperate to get the phone back; I think she tried to tell me that someone else had called but I didn’t catch that, and asked her to await a phone call from my girlfriend who could speak Korean properly and get her address for a meeting spot for tonight, if possible.

Of course, when I talked to Lime she told me what happened, and I told her what happened. One more call to this patient woman occurred, and then Lime called me to tell me the lady’d agreed to meet me tonight and give my phone back to me. I took down the address, and left without even putting my groceries away; I stopped by the little market near my house, and picked up a few canned drinks on Lime’s recommendation (always good to give a little gift of gratitude), and then caught a cab over.

When I arrived at the shop the woman had named, there was nobody to be seen besides the shop owner. He called the lady and then she told him she’d be right over. She brought her son, to whom she referred in Korean as “핮생” (“the student”), and told me that he’d found the phone. I bowed and sincerely thanked her several times, to which she expressed her amused nonchalance, and she handed the canned drinks to the boy, who looked about sixteen years old and appeared quite shy to speak to me. The shop owner, who’d asked me a few questions, observed that I was a Canadian and a “Professor” (whatever that means) and the woman seemed like she was trying to appear impressed. I simply thanked her again and she wished me well on my journey, which was a way I think of her wanting the whole situation over.

I took the hint and caught a cab home. On the way I called Lime to thank her for her help, as well as messaging Andi (whom I’d meant to call, but whose non-response to my SMS makes me suppose she’s sleeping). Andi, it’s you’re reading this, I was going to call and ask if Thursday night would be a good night for me to pop by Kunsan. I don’t know if it will be possible, since one of my wisdom teeth is coming in and causing me the most awful pains and headaches—I will see a dentist tomorrow and find out what’s necessary before I can commit to any plans at all—but it looks like you’re sleeping.

Another decent human is a kid I taught at camp, Su Min, who was a nice little girl. She’s been emailing me almost every day, and the emails are funny and cute, so I don’t mind. It’s fun corresponding with her this way, though I wonder for how long it will be. But I’m just enjoying it for now…

And the thunder and lightning and real downpour just began a few seconds ago. It’s time to switch off the lights and enjoy the show out there past the edge of my balcony.

UPDATE 26/8/2004: Now I know why he was so shy to look at or talk to me. During camp the girls in my class made some adorable name stickers and gave them to each of the teachers on staff. Mine had two little red hearts in both the upper corners and said simply, “Gord”. Well, sometime last night I looked at the sticker and noticed that the two hearts and the “r” had been peeled off, leaving only the word “God” on the sticker. It’s kind of funny, and I’l leave it that way as a reminder to be careful not to lose the phone again, but it was kind of dumb of that boy to destroy the sticker that way. I was thinking of buying some comic books for him, but now I really don’t think I will. I thought kids got out of that destroy-everything-you-can phase long before high school. Ah well, I still appreciate the phone back, but I wish the kid had left the sticker intact, it being a gift and all.

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