Travelers.

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck, as you may know, is his narration of a 1960 road trip around the United States with his standard poodle, Charley. In reading it, I am wildly impressed with his fascinating observations about people and the country as it was then. I suspect it's very different now. One thing that's different is a Kindle. While it's an easier way to read a book, it's also disheartening not to be able to underline or highlight his many brilliant observations. The one I just read on the bus coming home is, at the same time, so obviously true, yet so necessary to remember. Earlier in the book, Charley has trouble relieving himself and seemed to be in some pain. Steinbeck rushed through some Montana scenery to get him to the nearest vet. Sadly the man was lazy, incompetent, and cold-hearted and Charley was still mostly uncomfortable. He became sick when they reached Amarillo. This time Steinbeck found a young doctor who was intelligent, compassionate and eminently capable. He treated Charley with tenderness and respect and cured him of his problem, providing pills to make sure it never recurred. Naturally Steinbeck was grateful and the line he wrote is a truism we should always keep in mind: "There is nothing that can replace a good man."

Note: Obviously this applies to a good woman as well, to any person who is capable, empathetic, good-hearted and worth crossing paths with.