Hostel Friends

Ottawa, Canada
July, ‘77

Yesterday, I got up early to meet Joe. I was excited about the big
bucks I might make in Toronto. I was even more excited about going to
Toronto with my new found New Zealand friends, Pam and Bruce. They
were newly weds who were honeymooning as world travelers. After
Ottawa, they were on their way to England, and from there they planed
to work themselves around the world. I was just a wee bit envious.
They were both beautiful people. Come to think of it, while in Ottawa,
I've met a lot of really neat people. I have actually become friends
with some of them.

When I arrived at the hostel, I met John. He was a tall, lanky,
Australian. He introduced me to the dos and don'ts of hostel life. It
seemed like he was always around when I was in the hostel. He wasn't
overly talkative, but the two of us seemed to hit it off anyway. He
was a world traveler, but unlike Pam and Bruce, he had been at it for
a number of years. He told me that as long as it stayed interesting,
he would continue. He had already been around the world at least once.
After I came back to the hostel one night and found that he had
suddenly packed his things and left, one of the staff members told me
not to worry, when he wasn't traveling the world, he was working as a
chemical engineer. He was that kind of guy--quiet.