I'm on a voyage of discovery.

That guy walking toward me is no longer a stranger. His name is Craig. And he's a retired teacher. Taught in elementary schools. In the Stillwater School District. In the same county where I live. And he's resided in Forest Lake since 1974. My town. He lives less than a half-mile away from me. I've seen him hundreds of times. In passing. But we never took a few minutes to start an acquaintanceship. Or maybe a friendship. Until yesterday. When I took the time to converse with Craig. As he retrieved mail from his mailbox. 'My gawd,' I told myself, 'I should have done this long ago. Made significant human contact.' I routinely cultivate relationships with strangers when I travel abroad. But I don't do it so much at home. Where I've lived most of my life. Because I think of foreigners as more interesting. But hey, I'm learning that my neighbors may be the most interesting people in the world. In Minnesota, I live in a place just as intriguing and different as Sardinia, where I spent most of the past autumn and winter. With my Italian true love. But I've taken my home base more matter-of-factly. Not always recognizing the fine detail. The little things that make a big difference. The uniqueness. I talked to Craig. About Joe, the guy that walks his purebred dogs through the neighborhood. Craig knows Joe. Because Joe is his doctor. Yes, a family physician. I didn't know that. And Joe's wife, Erin. She's a physician, too. They're in the same practice together. Until now, I had no clue about the livelihoods of Joe and Erin. Or Craig. I'm on a voyage of discovery. In my own neighborhood. --Jim Broede