This is our world

 

Unpredictable. Amazing. Wonderful. Incredible.

At EVERY possible turn. In unexpected ways.

Several years ago, Terry and I went on a trip with two very dear friends, Ellen and Richard. We were in the Florida Keys, and the four of us had stopped to spend a glorious day with one of Ellen’s friends, Nancy.

While having dinner with Nancy and her husband, Norm, a conversation began about growing up in Rhode Island. A quick comment was made… a question here… a memory or two expressed… confirmation there.

Turned out Terry knew Nancy almost forty years ago. She even attended one of Nancy’s birthday parties when they were kids.

Many of us approach moments like this with wide-eyed amazement, which is fair enough. The reality though, is a bit simpler…

Crazy happens. Unbelievable happens. (Forgive me for this next one…) Truth is stranger than fiction happens.

I would love to help guide you to seeing a moose in New Hampshire, or killer whales off the coast of Washington. Can’t guarantee it. But, the moose are around and the killer whales are swimming along.

There are celebrities interacting with people around the world, even if you aren’t there. Some people will see the games this weekend in person. And in the case of tremendous stories, with unbelievable twists, there will be a few that emerge from the shadows to stun those involved.

Here’s a bit of advice for you about it… if you actually get out there, live life, say hello to others, travel, and so on, you’ll have the opportunity to experience some of it as well.

I’ve often been amazed by things like Facebook and email. I wonder about friends and colleagues that I might still be in touch with today if such communication opportunities existed even twenty years ago. I smile when I get requests to connect, or have my requests accepted. Turns out, the world is smaller than you could ever believe (and getting smaller every day).

When I was a child, a call to my grandparents came with long distance charges. An in-state call. Across the huge state of Rhode Island. Today, I have a sister that lives in Australia. I have zero doubts that in the not too distant future, I’ll be able to call her for free. (It’s getting smaller every day.)

But that doesn’t change the events of a sunny evening one May a few years ago, at a restaurant on the water in the Florida Keys. When two people from a small state, sharing memories separated by four decades of time in a place 1,500-miles away from where it occurred, made a connection that was pretty stunning.

But should it have been that strange? If we do get out and move around, chances improve for seeing people we know and experiencing pretty special moments. It is, at the very least, the best example of why getting off the couch and into some fresh air matters.

My great uncle served in World War II. Navy. Was out in the Pacific Ocean. If you knew the man… a silent man that never was the one to begin a conversation, and limited his role in them to single-digit word counts… you would never guess how far he had been from home in his life, and never guess some of the things he had likely seen.

And that’s a shame. Because those things were amazing.

Everyone has a story or two. At least. Connections you could never imagine are out there to be discovered and explored. Often, all you need to do is ask.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com