A Conversation at Whitewater

I met a British lady on the trail at Whitewater Falls. We spoke because she complimented my patience with her in taking photos of the thing, and I thanked her for her compliment and then told her the bit about the two overlooks being in different states even though they’re only about 170 yards apart just as a fun piece of trivia about where she was. 

She was struck by that, and then asked me where Cherry Point was. I was surprised by the question, since it is all the way across the state on the coast. “It’s very far,” I said, pointing east. “That way, about five hundred miles. The Marine Corps has an air station there.” 

She said she knew that, because she had a son stationed there cross-training with the USMC in flying fighters. Her husband had been a Marine for 24 years— Royal Marines, of course— before he retired. When he died, she said sadly, indicating the Kabar on my belt, the government had made them turn in all his knives and shotguns. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “We have a different policy here, as you might know.”

She then waxed positively about Trump’s rebuke of London’s mayor, a subject about which she had a great deal to say in agreement. I was surprised to hear someone from overseas speaking so positively about Trump, who doesn’t go out of his way to ingratiate himself with Europe. 

Just an anecdote, of course, but a striking interaction. I hope she enjoys the rest of her visit.