Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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A Moment from the Past. Once again, I was in line in the pet store with more 'lizard-crickets'. A pleasant young lady pulled back with a full cart of product. She smiled as I said, "Thank you." I paid and was walking out as she passed by me. I said, "So you told me you have rabbits." Then asking if she had chickens To graze the droppings from the cages above. "No," she said, stopping to talk. "Did you have children in the Davis schools?" I said yes and named my two boys, Pierre and Basil. "Oh, I went to school with Basil !" She gave me her name as Sevgi. Rummaging through my mind for languages, I said, not quite sure which language to grab onto, "That means love!" "Yes it is Turkish." "Of course," I responded. She smiled that I had understood. (I did live in Turkiye for some years.) Her sparkling eyes prompted me to invite her And her family to my farm. We said goodbye, I, feeling a nice warmth of internationalism. Travel in and learning about other cultures Does add a further dimension to one's depth. Frank Maurer 19 December 2023 1725 Hours.