The Roseburg Experience

Today I was given the quintessential Roseburg experience. And I survived, barely, but I made it. It was a grand day of kind, amazing, unique, and generous people. There will never be another day like today, it couldn’t be duplicated even if we tried. What I really love is the memories that you can’t sum up in writing, photographs, or any other way. It’s the small anecdotes and jokes that are told along the way, here and there in between activities and during a little break in the busy day.

Randy told me time and time again that what makes Roseburg and makes home is the people. He mentioned several times how nice the people are here in Roseburg, how true it is. There were three reader boards across town welcoming me, just plain ol’ me, a regular guy who can be quite boring at times. There were a number of people who came up to me to see what I’m doing and every one of them wished me the best of luck like I was one of their long time friends. But, I’m a stranger to these people, a random kid invading their hometown.

Well, I see them more as potential friends than strangers, and I think they see me the same way. I now have a group of friends in Roseburg who have my back, would help me out in times of need, and are encouraging me to make the most of this trip while wishing me bounds of safety and joy. There is a lot to be said for these people to take me in.

From what I’ve seen on the trip so far I’ve had some great welcomes, but no town has welcomed me as a whole the way Roseburg has. People mentioned that I was a little celebrity. I don’t know about that. It felt to me that I was coming back to my old high school reunion or something and everyone was excited to see me again, it really was as if we were all old friends getting back together, from all generations as well. It wasn’t just Randy and his friends welcoming me, it was an entire town. To say the least I’m honored by it, and I wish words existed to say how great it is.