I met an old man Saturday morning at 6am at the car rental place. He joined my airport shuttle - the only other passenger that early - and to be honest I’d been a little annoyed that we were waiting a while on another person because my flight was so soon. Once he got in the van he said, “Hey, I recognize you!” And I realized we’d shared this same shuttle late Wednesday night, when picking up our cars. Coincidence.
He sat in the front seat with me and told me he’s from Memphis. We talked about Tennessee, Texas, 1950s menswear, Elvis and BBQ and then he said “Hey are you going through Charlotte?” I was indeed going through Charlotte. So was he, but an hour later. Same airline too. Coincidence.
He said he was glad to be able to follow me through the air train to get to our terminal. On the train we talked about Memphis falling to shit. He said crime has gotten bad. I told him Austin is going to shit as well since the stupid Defund the Police movement there. He lamented young people robbing stores with abandon. Some masked and woke looking white women in our train car side-eyed us. Oh no; a black guy who doesn’t support defunding they police! He told me he used to own a BBQ joint and when he gets home tonight his friends are waiting with a BBQ meal for him. Meats he cooked before he left. I asked him what sides he’s having and we talked about the best: mac and cheese casserole, pinto beans, greens, and fried okra. We compared BBQ styles in TN, TX, SC and NC (TX wins).
Then he said, “I like when people are enjoying life. Being grateful. So many people are upset all the time now. Why do you think that is?” I said, “I think it’s the Devil. I know that makes me sound weird..” He interrupted, “It is!”The masked white women were getting an earful. I told him the Devil is upside down. He laughed, “He is!” He said “He wants us to do everything that’s bad for us and God wants us to do what’s good for us.” Then he told me he used to be a Bishop!
We got to our terminal and made it through the longest security line. We talked about everything and more. He helped me get my hat back when it got lost in baggage screening. Then I had to make a mad dash for my earlier flight. He’s going to email me some of his sermons. He said they will help a new Christian grow. Without asking me he just said a prayer for us right there at the end of security and thanked God for the day to come. I’m sure we looked like a couple of weirdos to the other people struggling to get their shoes back on. He said what I was thinking, that God wanted us to meet today. He said he thanks God several times a day; it keeps him enjoying life.
Every once in a while I have a perfect chance encounter like this. In the most random places. With lots of coincidences. It’s more than just idle chit chat - it’s two souls meeting, seeing one another as they pass by. I don’t care if you think my recounting this is cheesy. It’s the kind of thing I usually just put in my journal, but I wanted to share this one.
Slow down. Thank God. Enjoy the day.
BBQ and the focus on God's will for us versus the never-ending machinations of Satan. Sounds like every trip I take through Charlotte.
Stay focused on the positive and ignore that nasty source of negativity trying to drag you down!
Had one of these moments this morning. Waiting in a long line at the Dollar store, the lady in front of me commented that the gift bags I was about to buy were cute. One little remark led to another, that led to another.....I'm naturally not super-outgoing but I've made it a mission to try and connect with people in a pleasant and positive way, every day, so I took the conversation a little further each time.
I learned that she, like me, has roots in western Pennsylvania. She mentioned Pittsburgh, and I said I was also from Pittsburgh (we are in Philadelphia now) and then she said, well, really I'm from Uniontown (small town south of Pittsburgh) and I said wow, my family is also from near Uniontown and it was on! Just two people passing ten minutes in a busy store, really seeing each other. As we parted, she said, "I'm Susan" and I smiled and said, "I'm Sheryl."