I don’t know if the type of snapshots chronicled here are commonplace throughout humanity, or I have a special type of brain setting that enables me to recognize these incidents. Anyway below is a list, in no particular order, of odd things and coincidences that I have seen or have been made aware.
- My wife and I were divorced for at least 6 years, (she maintains it was longer, before we came to our senses and remarried). During this time our mothers maintained their friendship with daily phone conversations. Linda’s mother Doris, passed away while we were divorced, on my mother’s, Claire’s birthday. An unfortunate occurrence with no odd significance. Until a few years later, when my mother passes on Doris’s birthday. Further, Linda’s father, Gerald passed on his father-in-laws birthday. Birthdays are not big celebrations within our family.
- During my working years, I made quite a few train trips to NYC for client meetings. It became routine, at first going all the way to Penn Station and cabbing to our Lower Manhattan office. For convenience, I eventually changed that routine to disembark in Newark, switching to the NJ Path system into the World Trade center, then walking the four blocks to our office. This required purchasing a ticket at a kiosk next to the tracks. On one such occasion, a woman in front of me was having difficulty figuring out how to get the ticket. I successfully helped her through the process and we soon boarded the NYC bound train. Being early rush hour, there were only two seats on the car, side by side, which we claimed. She was getting off at Journal Square in order to visit her daughter. We filled the short ride with pleasant conversation. She arrived at her stop, while I continued on to my meeting. After a full day, I reversed the process, World Trade Center to Newark. Being late in the afternoon, there was only one seat in my car as we pulled into Journal Square. One passenger entered my car, the same lady from this morning, who once again sat beside me.
- In the early 80s, a couple friends and I, took my mother to see Bruce Springsteen at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Though she was a Bruce fan, her favorite song was “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, by Credence. Filled with all the usual pre-concert excitement, we took our seats behind the stage. For my mother, that excitement changed to euphoria when The Boss opened his show with a cover., “Who’ll Stop the Rain”! During the song Bruce walked behind the band, and according to my mother, looked directly at her. She insisted the rest of her life he sang directly to her.
- For a few years, my cousin in West Chester hosted a wine dinner. This is about an hour from where we lived. Driving to one such event, I was following a hatchback on Route 1 that had many distinctive stickers across the back hatch. Linda and I took turns reading these stickers. We turned north on Route 202, while the hatchback continued on Route 1. Five hours later we are heading home south on 202, turning right onto 1. Just before we turned, a car came through the light, heading the same direction in which we were now turning. Catching up to this car it turns out to be the same sticker festooned hatchback.
- In 1989 or 90, Linda and I went to see the Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner film, “The War of the Roses”. These were two of the hottest actors at that time, previously starring in two wildly popular movies, “Romancing the Stone” and “The Jewel of The Nile.” We were more than mildly surprised when we were the only two occupants of the theater. Had never happened to me before, or since.
- Related in another post, this story about my friend Robert in Australia is worth repeating. Robert once texted me, wishing us a happy 4th of July, and asking how was everything. As we were in the depths of a heat wave, I replied with a video of Robin Williams in “Good Morning Vietnam” proclaiming, “It’s HOT, DAMN HOT.” Robert immediately replied with a picture of himself wearing a “Good Morning Vietnam” t-shirt that he was wearing at that exact moment.
- On the first day of our first Cayamo Cruise, Linda and I took a moment to relax on a pair of lounge chairs above the pool. There are approximately 2500 passengers on this cruise. Starting a conversation with the couple next to us, it is revealed that they are also from Lancaster.
- Linda and I once visited The Villages in central Florida. The Villages is a huge retirement community with up to 100,000 residents. Sitting at a bar, playing trivia, a question is asked, with the obvious answer being Hershey PA. I chuckle and say to Linda, I think we got this one. There is a couple sitting around the corner of the bar from us. The lady, says, “How do you know that?”, I reply, “We live about a half hour from the answer.” She asks, “Where do you live?” “Lancaster PA “, I tell her. “On my God, we are originally from Lancaster.” Introductions are made, and I remark to the gentleman, “That name sounds familiar”, “I was the boys basketball coach at Hempfield for a number of years“, he tells us. “That’s it, I am a referee”, I answer. The trivia game is long forgotten as we talk about basketball and the referees that we both know.
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