Say “hey” to my tour group,
everyone!
I had a blast with them yesterday.
They're the staff from a German engineering company here on a
retreat. The group was a mix of Germans and Americans, with a couple
of Brazilians mixed in. We had a great time wandering around
Marquette for a couple of hours and poking our noses in here and
there. And even the fact that Germany lost its World Cup game (and
was eliminated from the tourney) didn't seem to have too much of an
effect on the gang.
Even among those who were wearing
German national soccer team shirts.
Because they were engineers maybe I
shouldn't have been too surprised by this, but the thing that seemed
to fascinate the group the most was the Lower Harbor ore dock.
Hundreds of pictures were taken, dozens of questions asked, and
several members of the group actually wondered if they could get on
it (one even willing to risk arrest to do it). As a group, they
really liked the ore dock, even gazing back upon it lovingly from
locales such as the Courthouse steps.
It's funny, in a way. Because we see
the structure on a daily basis we really don't pay too much attention
to it. It's just part of the background, something we see driving to
work or while on a bike ride or run through the harbor. I think we
sometimes forget that we are one of the few places in the world that
has a dock like that. We're lucky in that regard, in that something
we take for granted is something that inspires awe and wonder and
even an urge to break the law in people who've never before seen it.
That's one of the reasons I love giving
tours, especially to people who've never been to Marquette before. I
get to show this place off. I get to show off wonders like the ore
dock and the lake and the courthouse, and it's almost like I get to
see them again for the very first time, thanks to the wonder and the
awe that the people in the tour group experience. I may see these
places every day, but it's always nice to be reminded of what special
things they are.
Because they really are.
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