Trekking Poles vs. Pilgrim Staff

[Paul Newfield]

Before starting my camino I visited with a friend of mine in southern
France, and he cut a branch off of a cherry tree in his yard and gave it to
me as a staff.  It was straight and surdy, and it was about as tall as I
am, and it had a diameter of about 1.5".  I carried my cherry walking staff
from SJPP across the mountains.  It was especially useful on the next day,
out of Roncesvalles, walking down hill.  On the descending slope, I would
position the stick downward, into a rock crevice, and then bring my foot
down against the side of the staff.  It was a secure way to descend the
mountain.

At Los Arcos, I was given a bit of yellow 'crime scene' tape-ribbon to put
onto my staff.

At the Ayuntamiento in Orbigo, where I went to get my credentials stamped,
I mindlessly left my cherry stick behind and walked out of the office and
onto the street and continued walking westward.  A little while later, I
looked behind and noticed a woman bicycling toward me, carrying a staff
just like mine, yellow ribbon and all.  I wondered, "Why does a woman on a
bicycle need a walking staff?", and returned my gaze to the front.
"Sen~or, Sen~or..."  She had noticed that I had forgotten my staff, and she
chased after me on her bike.  I thanked her profusely, and like all of the
wonderful people along the camino, the only payment that she demanded was
in the currency of camino, "Give a hugg to the saint for me."  Some time
later, I did.

That cherry stick was my companion, and my sheathed sword against agressive
dogs on the path.  Its thunk, thunk was a mantra that kept me going at
times.  When I entered the great cathedral, it was with me, and it left
with me.

I brought it home and it is now one of my treasured keepsakes from the
camino (and the yellow ribbon from Los Arcos is still attached). I don't
think I would feel the same way about a piece of telescoping techno-plastic
from REI.

Paul Newfield   (April 23, 1999 - May 26, 1999)       (pcn01awebdsi.com)
<http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~brasscannon>

And hello to my friends out there...
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