A few days ago, I was doing a book presentation when a lady came up to me and said, “I don’t think you remember me, do you?” What could I say? She looked so familiar, and I told her so, but I couldn’t pull her name out of my mental file cabinet. When she said her name, the whole of her came rushing back! Years ago…and I mean years! (How many? Well, maybe 20? 30? See what I mean?) Anyway, years. She is an artist still and that is my fondest memory of her. We actually met working out at the same gym, and she asked if I could sit for her so she could paint my portrait. Wow! She liked the structure of my face. Imagine that! Of course I said yes, and I went to the studio in her home for two sittings, if I remember correctly. As you know by now, don’t trust a thing I say when it comes to how-long! I do remember that I took a pink scarf with me, in case the black scoop-neck top was too bland. Yes, she said, that’s perfect.
The best part of this memory is that at the recent book talk, not only was she there, but she brought the painting. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was! There simply aren’t enough words that can express that. And, sure enough, there was the pink scarf. She keeps several of her realistic portraits, as she also does abstracts works, to prove she can paint “real.” I asked her–well, okay– begged her to will the work to me! Pretty brazen, eh? It’s not even that I covet it. No, but I do hold tight to the memory of sitting still for a couple of hours, which I spent writing fiction in my head. A blessing for both of us! An uninterrupted stretch of time for both of us to do what we love. I am eternally grateful for those few hours with her, hearing the brush move on the canvas as she created something out of nothing while I drifted into the world I was creating out of nothing in my head.
What was the chance of running into her again after all those years? Practically nil.
At the same time, another former workout and book club friend appeared at the same event, filling me in on what some of the others were doing. Again, many, many years ago. To complete the triple whammy, a former student came with her mother. More many, many years! I do run into her occasionally, and it’s always a delight to see any of my students. This girl/woman is platinum, as she was gracious enough, a long time ago, to nominate me for a presidential award after she herself received one. What a delightful afternoon!
How many times do we let go of something or someone, sure that we will never see them again? Sometimes the universe aligns and our paths cross again, usually for a pleasant moment.
At a high school reunion years ago, I ran into a fellow Girl Scout from those years. She was pleasant enough, though not very warm, which is to be expected when so many years have passed. I bring it up only to chuckle, because I got the last laugh, thank God. On a camping trip with the troop, I spent the night tied up in a stump field in the river. Two canoes were tied together, so there was no chance of capsizing. The sky was clear, and we watched the Milky Way spiral slowly above us. Magical. The next morning, the girl from the reunion was so solicitous in welcoming us back to the campsite. Why? Well, she put a frog in my sleeping bag before we cast off the night before! All I could think of was struggling to escape some wiggly creature in my sleeping bag, only to either get trapped under the thwart or to tumble overboard in a panic. Either one would not have a happy ending. However, that enterprising frog escaped somehow. From the sleeping bag and from the canoe. What a disappointment for the perpetrator. What a lucky escape for me! At least, it cemented my suspicion that she really didn’t like me. Time didn’t seem to change that. Ah, well, it is still a good memory for me.
One encounter turned out more humorous than embarrassing. Years ago, teachers were required to complete an annual tuberculosis test, so in I went. Those were the days when I had to hug a wall-hung screen while the technician manipulated shoulders and posture to get the optimum X-ray of the lungs. All done without clothing on top, of course. And there’s where the embarrassment could have come in. Once my test was done and I pulled the robe shut, the male technician in charge of me said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” Nope. “I’m…” The minute he said his name, the years fell away, and of course I remembered him: my seventh-grade student from way back. Luckily, nudity doesn’t bother me, nor did it bother him. He was, after all, a qualified health professional. We had a good laugh. But that wasn’t the end of it. Years later I was undergoing radiation treatment for breast cancer. (Totally successful, I’m happy to report.) Walking into the treatment area meant also disrobing, and I always just dropped my robe on the nearest chair and sauntered over to the table. I called it going to the topless beach. Lo and behold! Who was my technician? You guessed it! The same former student. I would’ve given him a hug, but… Naked hug? Nope. Another good laugh.
Finding a lost earring way down deep between the driver’s seat and the car’s console is another instance of the universe aligning. Although that seems to happen more often than not, once I’ve decided that five years is long enough to hold onto the single earring in the hopes the matching one will appear. And it usually does…within a day or two of discarding the remaining one…and after the garbage truck has just driven away.
From major to minor, serendipitous intersections can give us a chance to stop, reminisce, maybe reset, maybe chuckle. For me, they are one of the many unexpected delights of having fun with life. Hope they work the same for you.