Do you know anyone here?

There was a buzz in the hotel conference room of 50 young adults.  This was a meeting for a 3-week summer European trip.  This was my first trip to Europe.  I didn’t know anyone here but leaped into the adventure. 

“Do you know anyone here?” I asked the blond gal next to me.

“No,” she said.

“I’m Marcia Chang.”

“I’m Netta Sommers.”

Through chit-chat, I discovered she was a public school Jr High Home Economics teacher.  I was a public school Jr High Music teacher.  So, we had something in common.

We listened to the instructions about luggage, visas, currency exchange, and flights.  In the end, the guide said,  “Come sign up with your roommate so we can assign rooms.”

It seems everyone else there had made plans to travel with a buddy.  I did not and she did not.

“You want to be my roommate?” Netta said as she turned to me,

“Sure, why not?” I shrugged.

The deal was sealed.  We exchanged phone numbers and signed up as roommates.

After the meeting, I wondered what she was really like.  Would we get along?  Did she have weird habits?  What if we had to share a bed?    We would not meet again until embarking on the trip.

This tour was based on the “buddy system.”  We were a strange pair as she was the blond, Jewish gal and I the short Chinese one.  We not only shared the room, but sat together on the bus, ate together at meals, and walked together on tours.  Each time the group moved, we had to account for our “buddy.”

On the third day of the tour, we put our luggage out the door before going to breakfast and from there went directly to the bus.  The bags would be collected while we ate breakfast.  Netta put her bag out first, minutes before mine was ready.  As we went out to breakfast, I put my bag out but noticed hers was already gone. 

When we arrived at the bus I asked, “May I check the luggage compartment to make sure my bag is there?  Netta’s bag went first and I want to make sure my bag got on.”

“Of course it got on.  We picked up all the bags.  I counted them.  Get on, get on!”

Off we went to the next city.

At the next stop, my luggage was not there.  It was left behind.  The only clothing I had, I was wearing and the essentials in my purse were passport, money, and ID. 

With his French accent, “Oh, I’m so sorry.  We can get it forwarded and you can have it tomorrow.  I will do it right now,” the tour guide assured me

Because this was a “one night stop” tour, the bag was always a day late for each stop.

Netta loaned me sleeping clothes, toiletries, and anything I needed.  Unfortunately, I wore a size 4 dress, and she wore an 8.  I purchased underwear and washed my polyester dress each night.  Others said they were willing to lend me clothing but nothing would fit.  This went on for 3 weeks.  In this plight, Netta and I became very close friends.  My luggage finally caught up with me at the last stop when someone realized it needed to be forwarded 2 stops ahead.

This kind of traveling was 24/7 togetherness.  By the end of the trip, most of the “travel buddies” were not talking to each other. Netta and I were the only ones still friends.

As single ladies, we shared stories of the special men in our lives we left at home.  Netta volunteered Ray to give me a ride home, as I was not sure anyone would meet me.   As we got into the terminal, Ray was waiting for her and I was surprised to see Rich waiting for me.  He came instead of my roommate, with flowers in hand.

That was 1970.  One year later we missed attending each other’s wedding because our weddings were one day apart.  They married in Long Beach, CA.  We married in Honolulu, HI.

That was 49 years ago, and we are life-long friends who celebrate our wedding anniversaries together every  August.

Divine Appointments--Drouin

We were looking for a property management company as the job was too complicated for us for the few rental units we owned.  We didn’t know where to turn as we had heard many horror stories of management companies cheating their clients.  The manager for our Honolulu condo charged us huge fees for repairs when my dad could do it for much less.  We sold the property.

One day I got a call from a young man I didn’t know. 

“I’m calling on behalf of a property management company.  We are offering to manage any property you have."

“Yes,” I said with skepticism.”How will I know your company is ligament and will do a good job?”

“I will have my boss call you so you can discuss the possibilities with him.”

The boss, Wil Drouin, called me a few hours later.  He seemed to offer the services we wanted at a reasonable rate.  Rich and I decided to give him a try for one year then re-evaluate.  That was 30 years ago and Wil still manages property for us and has helped us invest in real estate wisely.  We have come to trust him and his staff completely.

Wil later told me that the young college student who called, wanted a job, so Wil told him to do cold calling to drum up business.  He would be paid by the business he brought in.  He and we hit the jackpot.

          At the nearby mortgage company where I worked, we hired many receptionists on a trial basis. Most candidates were young and inexperienced at managing phones. One morning, as I was the first to arrive, my boss left a note on the front desk for me to “check out” the new receptionist.  The note said, “Hope she isn’t as bad as the last one.  Her name is Susan.” 

Susan Drouin was there early and I think she read the note.  She was a mature person and she would be on a temp-to-hire basis.  After a few successful days at the office, I asked her about her unusual last name.

“Do you know Wil Drouin?” I asked.

“That’s my husband!”  she said laughing.  "How do you know him?"

The world just shrunk.

Susan was hired and we became good friends.  She continued as the receptionist in that office for almost twenty years even, after I retired.  She was the “last-man-standing” when the bank closed all its California offices.  She turned out the lights.

There was such a camaraderie that she has stayed in contact with the “old gang” and still makes plans for us to see each other again over lunch.