How the stranger with the hat meets friendly people in a strange city

Sydney, friday 6 may 2005
day 16 of Listen and Tell in Australia

* * *

“Good morning Sir. What would you like to have?".
"Ah, a short black please".
"That'll be two forty".

The friendly lady at Gloria Jean's Coffees smiles at the stranger with the hat. Not that he's a special customer or something: she smiles at all the guests in the coffeeshop in Cherrybrook. Looks like she's having fun in doing her job. The stranger had already noticed that a few days before.

"A good way to start the day off", she remarks.
"Yeah, you're right. It's a special moment. I only drink one coffee a day".
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Anything you have a lot of, after a while you'll find you start appreciating it less and less".

The stranger pays the two dollars and forty cents and watches his espresso being made. He offers the friendly barista his frequent sippers clubcard for the punch. She does so. Two more to go and the eleventh will be for free.

"A busy day today?". The friendly lady picks up the conversation. Just like a good barista would.
"No. I never have a busy day".
"Are you visiting here?"
"Yes. I'm in Sydney to write a book".
"What's the book on?"
"Salt".
"Salt?"
"Yes, salt. You know, that little white stuff you put on food to make it tasty. It's in your sweat and your tears as well".
"How come you're writing a book on salt?"

The stranger tells the barista about the revival of Gandhi's Saltmarch, last March. About his idea to write a book on it. In English. 27 chapters, one for each day of the march. Every third chapter somehow deals with a different aspect of salt. He picks up his espresso and sits at one of the tables. His favorite one, in the corner. As every day he reads a while and writes his children two postcards. Today one with a kangaroo and the other with a kookaburra.

"What's your name?", the stranger asks the friendlybarista when he's leaving."
Diane", the barista answers.

* * *

Walking to the Pennant Hills railway station the words somehow still wander in his head. It's a good way to start off the day for the stranger with the hat in Sydney, Australia. Friendly people make you feel more cheerful yourself.

One hour later he's in the train from Pennant Hills to the City. A one hour ride. Just outside Burwood he stares at the Sydney-downtown-skyline in the distance. Already familiar with this city he recognizes Sydney Tower, Harbour Bridge and the highrises that harbor companies like AXA and ANZ. It reminds him of his homecountry, the Netherlands. Traveling from The Hague to Rotterdam by train the silhouette of the city can be seen in the distance. The Euromast, the Erasmusbridge and the highrises of companies like Shell and Nationale Nederlanden.

A Boeing 747 breezes over, almost in the same direction as the train goes. The silhouette of the jumping kangaroo on the red tail of the white bird is easily recognizable. He takes a good look and sees the faces looking out of the small windows. He wonders what all these people are thinking of. Who knows with what expectations they arrive?

* * *

“You like reading?"
A small Asian man with a friendly face speaks to the stranger with the hat in a bookstore on George Street.
“Ah, yeah. Actually it’s an addiction. I need to read at least one or two hours a day”.
“What kinda books do you read?”
“All kinds. I read several books at the same time. All different ones. I consider it an exercise to the mind.”
“Well, what you’re reading today?”
“Oh, a Paolo Coelho-book, a book on the successtory of Starbucks, Mein Kampf and the biography of AlbertEinstein.” A well-balanced combination of genuine positivity and appalling hatred.

The Asian turns out to be a doctor from the Philippines. He’s come to Australia to work in a hospital for one year. Maybe longer, cause he likes this country quit a lot. Himself he likes to read help-yourself-books. You know, the kind that helps you live a more friendly life.

They chat on whatever comes to their minds.
"What's your name?", the stranger asks when they’reparting.
"Leo", the Asian answers.

* * *

On his way back home the stranger with the hat thinks the day over. It’s been an enjoyable and worthwhile day. He has read some books, has written his children two postcards and wrote a tale, but most of all, he met some friendly people.

A good thought to end the day.