Like Ships in the Night
A lifetime of travel and of meeting memorable strangers
A lifetime of travel has given Sherrill Pool Elizondo a wealth of memories of people she met, people who passed like ships in the night.
Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Tales of a Wayside Inn”
It was 1970 and I was young. I don’t recall which country in Europe this chance meeting occurred. I was newly married and on a trip to Spain, Switzerland, Austria, and Great Britain. We were on a train and met a man from Turkey. In our brief conversation, he said he was a hazelnut salesman and offered us a taste of delicious chocolate candy. We were, after all, adults and accepted the offering graciously. No danger there. I recall more or less the man’s appearance but definitely remember him wearing a hat. In my mind, then and now, he has remained a mysterious figure. There’s not a movie I watch or a book I read that evokes an image of a man in a trench coat, wearing a hat, and walking by a train in some European city that I don’t think of him. He was like those “ships that pass in the night” and in my imagination he surely was a spy.
Fast forward to Hawaii 2012. My husband and I traveled to Kauai to meet our oldest son and his family who, at the time, resided in California. When we arrived at where we were staying, I felt like I had been dropped on a movie set … in awe of the beauty, tranquility, and silence. Our son and family left a day before us, and so my husband and I took a drive in Waimea Canyon State Park. We also took a boat tour of the Na Pali Coast, a spectacular adventure. We found ourselves conversing with a young couple from Switzerland on their honeymoon. Again, a very brief time spent in discussing our lives and travel, leading to another fond memory of people one sometimes encounters on trips. I visualize them happily married with a few beautiful children in their equally beautiful Swiss home.
Monument Valley 2013 and, by chance encounter, spending time with someone special. We could have been assigned any Navajo guide in that inspirational locale, but were blessed to get Duffy. We’d been told that it was a good idea to get a guide and not use our own vehicle. It was a good idea for photography purposes, most certainly, and to be driven into tough terrain and, along the way, learn about the area and the people. We were impressed with how well our guide expressed his knowledge of the surroundings and the Navajo culture.
I felt honored that, as a woman, I was to sit in the passenger seat of his pickup on our adventure with husband and camera equipment in the back. I had the opportunity to ask our guide questions concerning life on a reservation, even some questions about certain legal matters like jurisdiction for criminal events. US vs. Navajo law. All was interesting aside from the beautiful sites and talk about movies and commercials that had been filmed there. We still think of Duffy.
On a later trip out west, we had hoped to stop by and see him and Monument Valley again. Due to inclement weather and no vacancy at our favored hotel, we continued on our way home. Sorry to say I don’t do Facebook to keep up with him, but I hope Duffy is doing well and, from the internet, I believe he’s still a guide. I think we will see him in the future.
The year 2016 and another trip to experience more western states and national parks. A favorite overnight stop was Creede, Colorado. Seeing the crystal clear Rio Grande River near the headwaters was a treat for this Texas native accustomed to seeing a murkier river. It was in Creede where some travelers met up one morning at a small breakfast place. Over breakfast we met an amazingly fit hiker, and he certainly wasn’t a young man. He told us of all the trails he had hiked in the USA and was presently on a hike that had started in Mexico. He explained that his wife was also hiking but had turned her ankle. He put her on a plane bound for their home in Connecticut and continued his journey. I’ve wondered where his destination ended up that day. I am thinking that he is in his 70s now and still hiking in the mountains somewhere. Good for him!
At the end of this trip, my husband surprised me with a reservation in an old hotel I always wanted to stay in. It’s enough to say that it’s in the Texas desert not too far from Big Bend. I was standing on the porch viewing a beautiful Texas dark sky when two men walked by on the sidewalk. I’m almost certain I recognized one as being a movie actor. The area was deserted that September … no hotel weddings planned, no concerts going on, even the highly rated Gage Hotel restaurant was closed. Perfect place to unwind in peace before returning home. The person who looked movie star familiar I figured was either looking for a movie location or most likely relishing being in a place where he could be in peaceful surroundings and totally anonymous.
Rick Steves on the value of travel
In 2018, escaping Texas heat for a few days in Maine. What a trite thing to say but a place SO VERY picturesque and cool in summer … that’s Maine. At breakfast at our B&B in Bar Harbor, we met a lovely couple from the Chicago area. It was almost immediate connection for us, especially between Kimberly and me. We made plans for the four of us to go in one car to Acadia National Park. What fun and good company. I loved everything about that trip, plus I made a friend. She and I still text and email and, on her trip to Houston concerning her art work, she was able to come visit us. The meeting in Maine COULD have been “ships passing in the night,” but it ended up being more.
Hats off to the total stranger at a gas station the following year who told us about Tillamook Creamery in Oregon. He must have been an angel in disguise. Delicious treat!
For my encounter with the big and strong young man on that swinging bridge in Costa Rica in 2022, I only have hopes that no one tries to convince him again to cross even one. He turned around midway on one bridge and walked up to me and asked this old lady if she would like to go get a drink! I was with family, I said, and found out later that so was he. He just went back to the parking area and waited for everyone. I was a trooper that day crossing several … never again. I’m still laughing about that encounter.
In very fond memories of a trip to several Southern states in 2024: Fairhope, Savannah, Beaufort, and Charleston – I miss you! I’ll always smile recalling the rabbi of one of the oldest synagogues in the country giving me a high five before I entered the sanctuary. Southern hospitality is the best even if for a brief moment in time, a blessing to be acknowledged by another just in passing.
I smile to this day about an encounter in the Houston airport. It happened in the days when one could still wait for someone at the gate. I was waiting for a son arriving from California and heard a male voice and thought to myself, God or Moses?! I looked up and there was Charlton Heston passing by. He looked directly at me and gave me a polite nod. Ships passing in the night.
Sherrill Pool Elizondo graduated from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) with a degree in English and education. She is a sixth-generation Texan and interested in genealogy. She’s been an aspiring writer for over 40 years and is the proud parent of three sons and has six talented and remarkable grandchildren. Her stories were seen online at Boomer Café, including this one in 2019. She has other stories which can be found online at Bullock Texas History Museum, 70 Candles, Grand Magazine, Texas Escapes, Bridge of the gods Magazine in Oregon, and Boomer Magazine.
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