Sometimes, Friendship "Happens"
My Friend, Haley Hamid
“A stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet.”--William Butler Yeats
I think of a friend as someone you can easily bond with, either meeting them by accident, or by design. And sometimes, a friendship just …happens, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. This was six years ago now, but I met a special new friend exactly like that.
Robert and I were in the waiting room of yet another Camping World with our lemon of a motorhome. We were sharing the waiting room with a nice couple and their two children.
It was interesting. Talking with them, we found out we were actually side by side “neighbors”, staying at Camping World’s free campsite for customers who were waiting for parts and repairs. We laughed as we compared problems with our motorhomes and the time spent with repairs
Their daughter, Haley, who was ten, kept eyeing our Chihuahua, Toby. It wasn’t long before she was holding and petting him. She asked if she could take him for a walk and I said she could, if it was okay with her parents. They agreed, so we put the leash on Toby and they went outside for a few minutes.
Soon after, her parents were called to the service area and Haley and her brother, James, stayed in the waiting room with Robert and me … oh and Toby, too.
We talked and laughed some more about the motorhome life and things that go wrong. We went to the lobby for popcorn, walked Toby, and Haley told me she and her brother needed to get home to New Jersey, because school would be starting soon.
By then, our motor home was ready and Robert and I had to leave, though we still had a few repairs left for the next day. Hoping I would see them later at the campsite, I invited Haley to come over and visit any time.
An hour later, there was a knock on the door. Haley had come to say goodbye. Their motor home was repaired and they were going to be leaving for New Jersey in half an hour.
We sat and talked and somewhere in the conversation, I asked whether her parents would have to go right back to work, or if they would have a few days for unpacking the motorhome. She asked me what I meant, so I rephrased my question and asked whether they each had jobs.
“Well, I guess so.”
“What kind of work do they do?”
“Well … they own a circus, The Hamid Traveling Circus. I guess that’s a job. It’s been in our family for a very long time.”
“A circus? Wait. They own … a CIRCUS? WOW!”
“Yes, and we all do something. Mom is in charge of the costumes, lighting, and production with Dad. My brother juggles, rides a unicycle, and does magic, and my older sister is an acrobat. She’s very pretty.”
“How exciting! What do you do, Haley?”
“Well, I’m still young and learning. Mostly, I have a huge metal ring that I do tricks inside, but I do a few other things too.”
Then, another knock at the door. Haley’s brother came to get her because they had to leave. Haley and I hugged and I gave her a signed book and a business card so she could call me any time she wanted.
Robert and I watched from the doorway and waved to our new friends as their motor home pulled away, towing a huge trailer. Her father followed in his pickup truck towing an even larger trailer.
After they left, I went online and Googled “The Hamid Circus”. Sure enough, it’s a traveling circus, based out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and they work with the Shriners.
Haley’s a teenager now with her own acrobatic act high in the air on a trapeze in their circus and she’s gorgeous.
You would have never met such a fascinating family were it not for motorhome aches and pains. It always helps to find the silver lining and you sure did!!!