The visitor was from Austin and her knees were troubling her so much that she choose to spend time with us in the Visitor Center while her two companions took the hour hike into Santa Elna Canyon. She was a delightful conversationalist, so we really enjoyed her company.
One of her remarks was quite thought-provoking: "Visiting out here, I've realized again that there's so few people in West Texas that they don't get in one another's way. That's why they are so friendly when you do run into them or when they gather. They're just glad to know there's folks that can be counted on when the need arises."
I think I've read somewhere that the rituals of bowing in Japan are a way of keeping one's distance in a very crowded and compact population confined to an island. Apparently community is not simply a matter of numerical conglomeration on either a small island or in an area so expansive that Brewster County Texas is bigger than a couple eastern seaboard States.
Neighborliness needn't be a function of nearness. A disposition toward friendliness needn't be determined by proximity.
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