Name Catching

I have been called a "name dropper" for obvious reasons, but I think "name catcher" is a far more interesting activity.

While visiting St. David, Wales, we saw the magnificent cathedral, the beautiful little town, and green rolling hills to the horizon. Then a few years after that trip, the TV news included a story showing Prince Charles at the entrance to this beautiful old cathedral. That's all most people saw, if they even saw that much.

But not us. Our ear "caught" the name and our eye “caught” the picture of the doorway of the cathedral, and in our minds-eye we “saw” the unusual three-dimensional wooden ceiling of the old cathedral; we "saw" the cemetery that extends down the hill right to the church walls; we "saw" the ruins of the abbey next door; we “saw” a row of houses, just down the street, almost hidden behind hydrangea of various colors; and we “saw” an elderly lady polishing the brass mail slot in the front door of her old stone house.

A few years later we visited Enna, Italy (Sicily) and saw a “twin city” named Calascibetta, on the hill across the valley. We didn’t explore it that day, but we looked and looked from the distance. Even I can conquer only so many of these hilltop towns and cities in any given day.

Ten years later I saw a magazine photo of a hilltop city that I was sure was the one on the hill across from Enna. The picture was labeled Calascibetta, and I checked our travel journal to make sure I had the name right. Who said I’m not amazing, so modest too.

Our ear may catch the name, and our eye may catch a picture of a thousand cities, towns, or buildings, and with the help of our mind’s eye we find an added reward for our years of travel.