The People We Meet in Basque – Part 4 – 8.17.23

Dear James,

Here is the 4^th and final installment of “The People We Meet” from my Basque Trip.

Day 16 – The Tour de France in Bilbao, Spain – The Mother

The “Grand Depart” of the Tour de France would occur in Bilbao with the first stage starting and ending there. Through very fortunate circumstances that occurred in South Africa of all places, I was given VIP passes for the start and end of the race, allowing us to be near the teams.

As we mingled at the finish line in our VIP tent, I met a family with three teenage sons. Americans, they now lived in Japan. I told the parents that my wife and I also had three sons. And I then said, “There is a special place in heaven for the mother of three sons.” The mom immediately grabbed my arm and asked, “Does it get any better?” Without hesitating I said, “Much better. Someday, but not soon, they will appreciate everything you have done for them.” As I started to walk away, she looked at me with tears welling up in her eyes and said, “Thank you so much for what you said earlier. I needed to hear that.” I smiled and said, “No worries. It does get much better, trust me.”

James, someday you will appreciate everything your parents have done to raise you. But they do it out of love. There is a Croatian folktale of a mom who raises her son. The son eventually marries and does not treat his mom with the love and respect she deserves. She sees a fairy in the Forrest and complains about how her son treats her. The fairy says I can send you back in time where you are fair and young again. The mother exclaims, “It would be lovely to do so.” And then she says maybe I can raise my son differently so that he will treat me better in my old age. But the fairy says, “With this wish you will have no son and you may never have a son.” The mother says, “I cannot do that. I love him too much and could not bear to not have him in my life.” So, the fairy does not grant the wish. But the fairy surprises the mother.  “Because of your continued love and devotion to your child, you shall receive your original desire.”  The fairy tells the mother that because of her love and devotion, the fairy will instill in the son an appreciation for the mother and that going forward, the son will show acts of kindness and love towards her.  

Good parents do not have children to raise versions of themselves or to be loved and adored. Good parents want to be appreciated, but even if they are not, they still love and cherish their children. But it is nice when our children demonstrate love through words and actions towards us. 

Day 17 – Madrid – The attaché 

After the finish of the first stage of the Tour, Pete and I flew that evening to Madrid. The next morning as I walked down to the Lobby of the hotel and onto the sidewalk, I noticed a lot of men in dark suits with ear devices. Several black sedans were lined up with a police motorcade. I had obviously stumbled upon the entourage of an important person. 

Curious, I slowly walked up to three men in dark suits and asked if anyone spoke English. One man said he did. I asked, “Who is this for?” He said, “It is for the President of the European Union.” He then pointed to the car with a flag that showed a circle of stars on a light blue background, the flag of the European Union.  I then asked, “Why is he here in Madrid?” The man explained that the President was there to meet the Prime Minister of Spain because Spain was to become the next Administrator Country for the EU. He explained that each member country serves in that capacity for six months before the next country is selected to do so. And Spain’s term started the next day. So, that was the reason for the visit.

He then asked me why I was there. I quickly told him that I had just come from Bilbao after seeing the first stage of the Tour de France. His eyes lit up and he said “I am Basque, and I am from Bilbao. But Bilbao is not as pretty or famous as San Sebastián.” I replied, “That is true. But I really enjoyed Bilbao. But there is another city in the Basque Region that may have been my favorite.” He asked, “What city was that?” I said, “Pamplona.” A wide grin appeared on his face. He pulled up the sleeve of his French cuffed shirt and revealed a rubber wrist-ban with the word “PAMPLONA.” He said, “It is also my favorite city.” I was blown away.

There was a commotion at the entrance of the hotel and the President of the EU walked past me and got into the fancy black Mercedes. Meanwhile, the Spanish attaché I had been talking to dashed away and ducked into one of the cars at the front. As if choreographed, most of the suits got into various cars. The motorcade then pulled away, with sirens and lights flashing, leaving me open-mouthed and still not believing what had just happened. Sometimes crazy stuff happens!

Day 18- The student at the Madrid Airport

The next morning, we headed to the Madrid Airport to head home. As I rode a bus to the tarmac where we would board our jet 1950’s style, I found myself sitting next to a young man from Knoxville, Tennessee. I liked him immediately. He reminded me so much of your dad’s very close friend from Chattanooga. 

The student and was heading back to Clemson after spending six weeks in southern Spain, where he said the temperatures had remained over 110 degrees during much of his stay – maybe due to global warming? He began to apologize for his English. He had begun to “think in Spanish.” So, he was still trying to get used to thinking in English again. Not ever being fluent in any other language but English, I wondered what it must be like to “think in another language.” If one is willing, it is possible to see and experience the world differently.

My trip to the Basque Country was amazing. And my encounters with others were a huge part of why the trip was truly unforgettable. James, it reminded me that we are all different, but yet, the same.  I think that if we would just look at each other, make and hold eye contact, and listen, we would all get along better.

Papa J