A surprise visit

Self-portrait from the bed of the truck

Imagine our surprise last Friday when James' dad informed us that he saw a story about our friend, the island carver, in our local paper, the Gainesville Sun. The last time we saw Henry and his family was in December 2007 on Andros Island. He has moved and changed telephone numbers several times since then, and so have we. He doesn't use e-mail, so we haven't been in touch since our visit. 

We learned of the opening in enough to go. I entered first and saw Henry talking with people. I walked up, suddenly a bit shy, and I stood near him to wait my opportunity to say hello. As he was talking to the others, he turned his head to acknowledge me - as he realized I was there, he stopped speaking to everyone else and stepped toward me, arms open. "Hedder, I didn't know how to find you. I can't believe you are here." He said as he hugged me close.

James soon joined us and in the moments that followed, the rest of the world disappeared as we stood sharing our lives.We mourned for our friend, William Colebrooke, who we just lost a few months ago, and Henry told us of the even more recent loss of his brother, Mel Wallace, who had passed away just before he came to Florida. He told us about his wife Eldeeta, his son, Henteetoe, and the other children and even his new grandchildren. We laughed and hugged again. Eventually, he returned to his duties as host.

We grabbed moments here and there throughout the rest of the evening - rejoicing in the fact that we had reconnected, amazed that it happened on the night before his departure. We wanted more time together, but we were so glad for the little we were granted.