Tom Mattson - Meeting Strangers, Making Friends: More Surprising Travel Adventures from the Minnesota Storyteller

Copyright 2021 Tom Mattson

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, except for brief excerpts used in a review, without prior written permission from the copyright holder, which may be requested through the publisher.

Published in the United States of America by Dudley Court Press

PO Box 102 Sonoita, AZ 85637

www.DudleyCourtPress.com

FRONT COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Mattson.

Cover photo shows a scene from Shirakawa Village in Japan, at the end of a long ride into the mountains. Meet the individuals pictured in Toms stories about Bhutan and Cuba and on his website, www.TomsGlobe.com

BACK COVER AUTHOR PHOTO: Thomas Leonard Studio, www.ThomasLeonardStudio.com.

COVER AND INTERIOR DESIGN: Dunn+Associates, www.Dunn-Design.com

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mattson, Tom, 1945- author.

Title: Meeting strangers, making friends : more surprising travel adventures from the Minnesota storyteller / Tom Mattson.

Description: Sonoita, AZ Dudley Court Press, [2021]

Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1-940013-86-2 (paper) | 978-1-940013-87-9 (ebook) | LCCN: 2020925603

Subjects: LCSH: Mattson, Tom, 1945- Travel. | Travelers writings, American.

AmericansForeign countriesAnecdotes. | Voyages and travelsAnecdotes.

Adventure and adventurersAnecdotes. | American essays21st century. | LCGFT: Travel writing.

BISAC: TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues. | TRAVEL / Special Interest / Literary.

LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Essays.

LCC: G465 .M38 2021 | DDC: 910.4/1dc23

Connect with Tom at www.TomsGlobe.com

Look for other books in this series at your favorite bookseller or at www.DudleyCourtPress.com

I dedicate this book to the many around the world and at home who have opened proverbial doors as Ive sought to experience a life of wonder. Each of these people, Im sure, opens doors for many others as well.

In creating two adventure books of friends Ive made and locales Ive succumbed to, Ive drawn on wisdom and advice from many abroad and at home. I acknowledged and celebrated a number of these people at the beginning of my first book, The Other Worlds: Offbeat Adventures of a Curious Traveler. I give them many thanks now, too.

For every person you read about in these stories, there are many others who also make enjoyable travels possible: those who give directions and offer suggestions; corner store clerks; hotel, caf, and transportation personnel; park and plaza caretakers; volunteers in houses of worship; farmers and fishermen; librarians; curators and staff in the worlds 55,000 museums; and inquisitive passersby.

My publisher, Gail Woodard of Dudley Court Press, has led the publishing process for The Other Worlds and this book. Her leadership, advice, and inside knowledge have been invaluable and an inspiration to me. And what a learning experience!

Gail has a great team and connections with some of the finest professionals in this country and beyond. Dudley Court Press Marketing Coordinator Carrie Le Chevallier, Project Coordinator Lora Arnold, and Copy Editor Pam Nordberg are superb! Book Designer Kathi Dunn of Dunn+Associates deserves widespread accolades for her cover and interior designs. Take a look at my first book and also appreciate her work on this book from cover to cover.

Editor Caroline Lambert has worked her magic with the 140,000 words in my two books. My final draft manuscript, born out of more than a dozen drafts, benefits immensely from Carolines subsequent editing.

Larry Chance typed every word of this book and then dealt with my thousands upon thousands of handwritten revisions. Larry has also weighed in with valuable observations. Larrys late wife, Irene, was also key to the early stages of this book.

Barb Tucker of Andrews Cameras has designed captivating promotional displays for my books and is a fountain of creative ideas.

Lori Thompson and Corey Mills of W.A. Fisher Co. are top talents in Minnesota. Lori, a graphic artist, created every mapblack and white for the book, spectacular color for the website. She and I fine-tuned every last detail. Corey set up and maintains my website, TomsGlobe.com, and prepares my newsletter. Lori and Corey educate me each step of the way.

A great big thank you to all!

Join me, please, on adventures to the far corners of our world. I promise well also discover intriguing, nearly hidden spots ever so close to home.

Once our journey begins, we find that we like meeting strangers. In fact, we soon love it.

Any one of the eight billion people on our planet, I venture to say, would love to meet Kunzang Choden. Let you and I do thatat her home out of a past century in Bhutans lofty Himalaya Mountains. Hers is the 20th generation of her family to live on that land. And oh does she have stories to tell! Could one be about an abominable snowman or snowwoman?

In Perus Andes Mountains, we meet another stranger. Mario Tribeo Mar, we learn, is a descendant of the Incas. Since we can barely communicate with Mario at first, how long might our friendship last? A half hour? Or much longer?

Our string of happenstances continues in other far corners. Phi Lay Ob drives a three-wheeled tuk-tuk in Battambang, Cambodia. After this once stranger becomes a friend, we hear a story of heartbreak and hope. Perhaps we believe its a message that should be heard the world over.

As we approach the rim of a volcanotwo and a half miles above sea levelwe discover a small but thriving community. Among the residents are Maria and her family, the Pilatasigs. What are the chances that a traveler to Ecuador would meet Maria? One in a million? Lets discover the answer in the opening pages of Meeting Strangers, Making Friends.

Should we tell the generations younger than ours that theyll have to travel the world to discover the wonders of diversity? As close as Albuquerque, New Mexico, well find one epicenter of diversity. Then, come on my motorcycle with me for a hop, skip, and jump to Acoma Pueblo for the grandest feast of the year. Once atop the awesome mesa above the desert floor, lets hope to chat with Acoma tribal members. It might be possible to follow them into their family home and discover what goes on behind closed doors. Perhaps the essence of a feast day has not ebbed for the last 920 years in this Sky City.

Close to home, we might urge young family members to become better friends with elderly relatives and neighbors. An account or two spun out later in this book introduces you to my 103-year-old cousinwho, over a full century, cared about, engaged, and even regaled the many who met her.

You may wonder if the characters in this book agree that their stories should be told. Make my story travel! each one urged once they learned Id like to tell their stories. And so their stories have traveledto the pages you are about to read. And possibly into the hearts of friends to whom you mention or gift this book.

Growing up a block from an iron mine on Minnesotas Mesabi Iron Range, I never envisioned Id have a single adventure like those I now write about. I recount how I was introduced to curiosity and wonder at a young age, though, at the outset of my first book,