Monday, April 13, 2009

Mr. Canal Boat Man

Erin and I stood in line on a sunny Easter Monday in Brugges, Belgium. I wanted to take a canal boat tour of the city being that it is known as the Venice of Northern Europe. We stood in a line about 10 deep and waited our turn to purchase tickets.
As we got to the front of the line we were greeted by the ticket taker with whom we exchanged pleasantries. He spoke very good English, so I engaged him with a common question of, "How is your day going?"
He sat back in his chair, seemingly disregarding the line behind us and this was his answer:
"Well.....I recently went to the Dr. and found out I was diagnosed with cancer and my girlfriend was in an auto accident this weekend".
Erin and I just stood and stared, almost waiting for the punch line....and there wasn't one. "Oh, wow, I'm so sorry. Well, I guess it'll just be two tickets then please..."
I'm not sure if this guy was having some fun or if this really was his fate. Either way, my condolences go out to you Mr. Canal boat man.

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