Dan and Bill Encounter Three Women in Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, Maine (2024) – Part 3 of 3

Bill is my longtime friend from my Writing Program summers at the University of New Hampshire in the 1980s.  By tradition, we meet each May for an overnight in Bar Harbor to hike the trails of Acadia National Park. 

Woman #3

After hiking up and down to North Bubble and Connors Nubble on the rocky terrain near Eagle Lake, Bill and I chill with some wine before walking into to town a mile and a half to Geddy’s, our favorite pub on the harbor. 

Though I am almost certain that there’s no chance that Geddy’s will be busy on this mid-May Wednesday, I am totally wrong . The hostess says there is a 30-minute wait, but you can sit at the bar. 

No fans of waiting, we jump at the chance to take two stools at the far end of the bar.  Truth be told, I’ve never sat at a bar for dinner in my life.  I’m ready to make a bold statement to swim outside of my lane.

Feeling happy from the vino, we just have waters with our mushroom pizza order.  At some point our conversation goes to my nearly four-year-old identical daughters, Reese and Charlotte.  A woman sitting next to us writing in a journal, who we later learn is in her mid-30s, turns to us and says, I have identical twin daughters, too; they are now seven.

Waiting for her lobster and we our pizza, we engage at the bar.  We learn that she writes fantasy and science fiction, two realms I know little about.  Learning she’s here to work on her next book, we connect with the fact that Bill and I both have taught writing in the public schools.  She asks about my writing and I mention my weekly blog..

Our conversation flows, as Bill and I must present as decent, non-threatening human beings.  Later, she mentions that one of her twins was diagnosed with cancer at the age four.  I ask, Was it leukemia? 

It was not, but she and I have another connection in that our daughter Robyn was diagnosed with leukemia (cancer of the blood) at the age of four.  Thankfully, her daughter is doing well.  Our exchange goes to the challenges of giving our non-cancer children their full due during such times of stress.   I mention that I wrote a book of narrative poetry, Sweet Dreams, Robyn, about our experience dealing with leukemia as a family.

As Bill and I finish off our mushroom pizza, she mentions that Geddy’s has the best blueberry pie; and she would like to buy us a piece to share.  “Yes” is almost always the answer to kind offers.  Once delivered, the pie takes us to blueberry heaven.

Lessons learned – Sit at the bar more often, Dan!  Given any chance, treat others to a piece of pie! Look for regular opportunities to be randomly generous. Such an outlook has served Hannah so very well over a lifetime.