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.