The Visit

Me and Scotty
Scotty, Me, Carrie and Ryan

A memory of home...well, my Scottish home. A close friend of mine was on his way to Seminary in Portland, Or from Glasgow, Scotland just a few short weeks ago. This journey he was on was one of twists and turns, knowns and unknowns, a random meeting and a group of people that became his family. (Hmmmm...has the making of a children's story, no?! :) ) Well, the boy called Scotty made a pit stop on his trek across the pond to a lovely town known as Cincinnati, OH. This stop was made to visit a long lost cousin. (Maybe not long lost, but it HAD been 6 years.) The girl called Beth found out about this little pit stop and was ecstatic due to the fact that she resided in a little place called Chicago...which, if you know anything about the mid-west, is just a short stop away from Cincinnati. Emails ensued and then texts and then at last a phone call...sadly it was a game of cat and mouse phone tag. One day on her way out of work, Beth stopped to talk to a colleague. Describing her plans for the weekend and the hope of meeting up with her friend, she got lost in the story of how they had met. Suddenly a Latin theme filled the air, after a moment Beth realized the sweet music was coming from her mobile. Pulling the phone out of her purse, she glanced at the caller ID...and then, it was like the heavens had parted, a beam of light shone on the phone and a high squeal came from her lips. “EEEEEE!!!!” It seemed like ages as the phone was flipped and the familiar, thick Scottish brogue was heard saying, "Hiya! How's it goin?" "SSCCOOOTTYYY!" came the reply as Beth frantically gestured to her friend that this was the same guy she had been talking about just a split second earlier. The conversation ensued and plans were made for travel to Cincinnati to visit Scotty. Beth tramped across 4 states during her trip there and boy was it worth it! The time Scotty and Beth spent together was brilliant, refreshing and relaxing. New friends were made in Scotty's cousin Kyle and his fiancée Erin; as well as Carrie (who had just been for a mission’s holiday in Glasgow a few weeks before) and her boyfriend Ryan. Memories were made that will be looked back on fondly for the years to come. Scotty continued his journey to the west coast and made it safe and sound. His journey is not over as school has just started, and even though Beth's trip to visit her friend was over, there would be more to come in the future. What destination would be next...Portland, Dubai, Africa, New Zealand? Beth could only imagine...until that day, she would be content with the modern ways of communication. To Be Continued...but who knows when! :)