My friend Randy and I were just texting about how much we enjoy those serendipitous little things in everyday life. Here’s why we were on the topic.
Two weeks ago, back home in The Texas Panhandle near Vega, he and I were at the ruins of an old stone wall of a sheepherders’ camp on a remote ranch, a site where Billy The Kid once hid out when he wasn’t stealing horses or whatever.
As we looked at the wall, I made a remark about that great film “Shawshank Redemption.” “Ha, maybe if we move that stone, we’ll find a note from Andy.” (You’ve seen Shawshank right?) We didn’t disturb the wall, but later that very evening, at my sister’s house, I turned on the TV. Guess what was airing that night on one of the movie channels. You got it. Shawshank! AND, at the very moment the picture appeared, the film was at the scene where Morgan Freeman is digging around at the stone wall and finds the letter from Andy (Tim Robbins). What are the odds?
If you have read this blog with any regularity, you know I am going to say it. “God’s sense of humor, I like to call it.”
It’s been a season of serendipity.
Today the Ping team here in Fort Worth completed a photo shoot with another Vega guy, Doug. Doug and I grew up in the same Texas Panhandle town of about 900 people, but because of our age difference had never met. Some 400 miles further South, in Fort Worth, we met about a year ago. Doug and I had seen each other a lot in Fort Worth, since we frequent the same Starbucks … a lot.
But one day about a year ago, Doug broke the ice, in such an interesting way.
Doug approached me in the Fort Worth coffeeshop and said, “Hello sir … hey, this is going to sound kind of unusual, but did I just see you in Vega, Texas at the Oldham County Roundup?”.
He had in fact. I try to go to the old timers’ reunion every year back in the Big V. Somehow I didn’t see him, but he had spotted me and recognized me, but we didn’t talk or meet until we were both back in Fort Worth.
Ha … we laughed about each of us having long hair, although that is not the norm in Vegaville. And of course that we see each other in Fort Worth all the time. Two caffeinated strangers …
A few months passed and one day I found out that yes, Doug owns the other motorcycle parked out front most of the time. Yet another similarity for this story.
Then the next thread to intertwine was about the hair. I mentioned that I was growing mine long to donate to some unfortunate child through the Locks of Love organization. You guessed it. Yes, Doug also is about to donate. So, what the heck. Today we went out in the parking lot of Starbucks and did a Locks of Love donor photo with motorcycles.
Doug is saying goodbye to his longhaired ways in just a few days so he can donate. As for me … I am going to try to stand it a little bit longer. We’ll see.
The long hair. The same home town. The motorcycles. The same Starbucks … and some people think we look alike — he a younger more fine-tuned version …
My new friend Aziz asked if Doug and I are brothers. Ha … my old friend Reagan asked on Facebook if we were the Allman Brothers. (see photo) And of course one of the baristas made a crack about us being bruthas from anutha mutha …
Anywho … as Doug and I were chatting, I mentioned my recent trip to Oldham County, and the brick wall … remember the brick wall story? … where Billy The Kid once hid out. Doug surprised me once again. Doug’s grandfather once worked on and around that historic ranch … the one with the old stone wall and Billy The Kid and all. And that’s where Doug’s father’s ashes are scattered.
Moral of the story … strike up a conversation with a stranger at Starbucks today. You never know where it might lead.
Know what I sayin?
