To Doug from Guam,

To Doug from Guam,

You were supervising Bank of America in the International District outside when I got off the bus on my first day of work.  I got off to go exploring before meeting some people for coffee and walking down to work together.  I knew that I was on a mission, and that I was a proud person wearing my PLU shirt that read the following:

Lutefisk Lutefisk, Lefse Lefse! We're the mighty Lutes! Yaaaaa sureeee you betcha!

When I walked down the street where you were guarding the bank, I was frightened by your booming voice asking if you could read my shirt.  At first I thought you were a false security man, and that you were standing there as a decoy, secretly hoping to take my bag with all of my valuable stuff in it.  When you introduced yourself as Doug from Guam, I only became confused as I was trying to process why someone would stop me on the street just to read my shirt.  I became even more frightened as you asked where I live and why I was up in Seattle with a shirt.  When I said 'Parkland' you greeted me with a booming laughter that harkened the attention of several people toward our direction. You looked up and said, "I live in Lakewood, but I thought you were from a different country."  We both laughed and you said that you would like it if I stopped by again, and that often when you greet people not many people give you the time of day to even say hello back, let alone converse.  I began to feel sorry for you, Doug from Guam, as you seemed to be a pretty nice person. You said that if we got to know each other better he wanted to introduce me to your family.  You then asked if the school I attend is a religious school.  I replied, "Kind of, but you would never know it." You asked if I was religious, and I replied with, "Yes, but it's been a struggle the past year." You then patted me on the shoulder and said, "We all go through that, but I think God has created a good one here, and we should all be blessed knowing you and His creation."  I was a bit floored by this statement since I had only known you for about ten, fifteen minutes at this point.  I replied with saying that God most certainly blessed Doug from Guam with a wonderful heart and soul.  I looked at my watch and noticed that I needed to go meet my friends for coffee, otherwise I would be late for work.  You hoped that I would return to visit again sometime soon.

I regret that I haven't visited you since, however, when I come back from holiday I hope to visit you again.  Your kindness set the tone of working in Seattle to a positive one, and restores some hope that humanity isn't horribly evil. So, that was really nice too.

Here's to you, Doug from Guam, and I hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,
KJ