Well I finally returned from my trip to Washington State yesterday and thought you should see the people who were my hosts during the trip. The unsavory looking character on the left, the one who looks like he might be holding the others hostage, is my friend Gabriel. Next to him is Superman, Papa Benjamin. Mr. Sevilla is seventy years old and is the one who hiked down to the beach at La Push (http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1994544&user_id=4105&np&np) and the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls. A very tough guy. The little guy is Alex and that's his mother Veronica on his left. She is Gab's middle sister. Her daughter Jessica, to her left, is the 'Twilight' fan. Daniel is the son of Gab's oldest sister. And last but certainly not least is The Boss, Mama Estrella. Mrs. Sevilla is about five foot nothing, a fabulous cook with a warm heart. She made a huge batch of hand made tamales for Christmas dinner, the first I'd had in thirty-five years. When I left she insisted that I take some with me. Seattle airport security is very efficient and I went through screening very quickly. As I was collecting my things a pleasant looking woman stepped up, pointed to my camera bag and asked if it was mine. I said yes and she asked me if there was anything in the bag that might harm her. Being an incurable wise guy I replied that I wanted to tell her only the tamales I was carrying but I might get into trouble. She smiled and said she had to check the bag. She proceeded to pull out the double-bagged tamales and told me the screeners could not identify what they were so a second check was necessary. She then asked if they were hand made. When I replied that they were she said she would have eaten them by then. We laughed and I was on my way. I called Gab when I got home and the family got quite a kick out of the possibility of my being arrested for attempting to smuggle tamales onto the plane. If there is a lesson from my trip it is that we can miss a lot if we fail to reach out to others, if we refuse to leave our comfort zones. The Sevillas were very welcoming to me and treated me as almost a member of the family. The strangers I met in Washington were, without exception, friendly and, when necessary, helpful. If I had stayed on my couch I would have missed it all. Over the years close friends have died or drifted away. Disappointments have piled up and left me bitter and isolated. This trip made me realize that it was my choice. I have read hints that there are others on this site that have been in similar situations as mine. You have to reach out. The world will not beat a path to your door. So that's my resolution for 2010. I'm going to be asking people next year if they want to do something together. The worst they can say is 'no'.