Jackie Stallworth - Topic of Choice 4

 There’s a joke in my family that one of my uncles and his wife are “homeless”, meaning they sold their house after they retired and travel the world, staying with their family and friends. A few years ago, right around the time that they became “homeless”, I remember this uncle telling us that he had done some hike in Spain a couple of times and he wanted us to come with him the next time. And my family, being the high maintenance people that we are, were never interested. It was only after we started talking about this in class that I remembered he was talking about the Camino de Santiago. The majority of my aunts and uncles are somewhat devout Catholics, but I never knew for sure whether this uncle was. Because he and his wife are still traveling the world, I haven’t seen him in years and haven’t asked him what his purpose for going was. I remember him telling us that it made him feel young and it was a good form of exercise. I don’t know if he did the whole Camino, or if he considered it a pilgrimage, but I do remember him saying it felt spiritual at times. I do, however, remember him saying that he had made friends, and because he speaks Spanish, he got to interact with many of the locals. I don’t know if he’ll do it again, however, because he’s getting older, and he had some new grandchildren that I’m sure will be his priority, but I thought this whole connection was an interesting coincidence.