I saw him as he walked from his truck to the dock.

He looked like Mister Ahmadeinejad but with a better shave, a better hair cut, better pants and a more comfortable shirt.  

He glanced at me and did a double take.

He kept going.

When I went into the terminal, he looked at me with a bit of fear in his eye.  I smiled and nodded to him.  

As I waited for someone from the local staff to pay attention to me, he spoke.  He said, "I'm sorry.  I wanted to ask you a question earlier, but I didn't want to scare you or make you uncomfortable."

I turned my attention to him and nodded.  "I will answer."

"Are you married?"

I've long since learned to always answer any remotely Middle Eastern Looking Man "Yes." when he asks if I am married.  I learned this by being offered several different handsome young men who had good bank accounts, cars, and potential.  To be honest, I could have had my pick of several litters... but they've never done anything to deserve being saddled with me.

"Do you have any children?"

"No, we can't have children, but we are hoping to foster children later in life once we establish ourselves more firmly."

He nodded, and I went past, looking for my frieght, dealing with the others.

I came back toward him and he shook his head, I recognized how frightened he was and how driven he was to say what he had to say.  

"Do you prefer a boy or a girl?"

"I would love a son or a daughter equally, were I blessed with such.  I would do my best for any child put in my care."

"You are have a daughter."

"But, I can't.  Really, it's not possible."

"Possible does not stop reality.  You have a daughter.  You name her Mary."

"Mary is a good name."

He went on to tell me about the connection of the name Mary between the Christian, the Jewish, and the Muslim cultures.  How the name more than any other is universal and indicates a woman of nurtre and kindness of selflessness and smartness. 

I held up my hand, my palm flat to him and my fingers together with my thumb curling out on the same plane and describing a bit of a tangent.

I traced it with my finger and said, "Mary.  Hand of friendship.  Hospitality and kindness.  Nurture and support."

His eyes lighted up and he nodded.  "Yes.  The same for all of us it is."

Shortly we had our freight delivered.  We went out to move our trucks around and he seemed embarassed.  He'd been a tool of the divine before, when he'd felt the need to offer another lady money to take a cab home rather than take her car.  

Long story short, his warning was justified and he took no credit on the spot for the warning.  he just offered it and moved along.

When you meet a crazy person who tells you something that nobody could know, will you laugh and go on or will you listen?  

Should you meet a shaman of another tribe, will you be kicking that person aside for speaking nonssense? Or will you know enough of your neighbors to engage them in conversation without embarassing them 0r you?  

Do you know enough about your neighbors to offer them hospitality?  Even if their cultural needs are different from your own?

Are you ready to greet the guests from a foreign land?

Are you ready to offer the angels a place to sleep?