Linda was on a mobilized scooter pulling a hamper on wheels into the laundry room at the Kauhule Makai rental property when we met. Our first exchange saw me helping her through the door and maneuvering around her rig in the crammed space similar to the Parking Lot Exit Game. She told me her husband had been shot down in Vietnam, they had lived in the building for 35-years and she had relatives north of Los Angeles.

When switching the laundry into the dryer she talked about her granddaughter (north of LA) who married a tour guide from Zimbabwe she met during a study abroad program in South Africa. She  talked about the long immigration process, how Moses wouldn’t take his new bride back to his homeland for safety reasons and she joked about how their contrasting skin colors made it difficult to get a good photo of the two. I talked about my time in Kenya and how my heart still aches for Africa. We both agreed that deep down we are all from the spectacular continent, although some don’t care to acknowledge it, and everyone can call the Great Rift Valley home. She mentioned an upcoming trip for her wedding anniversary and I told her about MGB’s birthday which was right around the corner. We didn’t see each other collecting the finished laundry but she was kind enough to stop by and drop off M&M’s (also short for Moses & Melissa) for MGB’s birthday the following afternoon.