Have you ever seen that movie? It's extremely cheesy and full of John Cusack's floppy hair, and I have no idea why, but for some reason that popped into my head tonight. Well, I suppose I was thinking about the word, but the movie? Not so appropriate. Thanks, brain.
So why was that in my brain?
Well.
I just enjoyed a lovely 28-hour trip home from Rome (it's 1am now, Berkeley time, Saturday night). I got to the Termini station in Roma at 6am Saturday morning, arriving at the international terminal at FCO at 8am, a full two and a half hours before my flight took off. I suppose there's something to be said for getting there early, but something tells me the 3-hr-beforehand limit isn't expected abroad like it is in the US. But no matter. I had my last Italian cappuccino (actually my first, as well, I realized- I've been drinking espresso), did some yoga, and read Belong to Me (I highly recommend this book) as my fellow passengers trickled in. After spending a week meeting random people, all I wanted to do was sit in my little bubble for a while and watch them all wander past, taking care of the little things they all cared about, the little rituals before flights. I took a heavy grip on my oh-so-sexy neck pillow and prepared myself for an 11-hour flight to Atlanta.
The flight was not interesting. I sat next to a kid from Penn who had spent the last month on an archaeological dig in Tuscany (poor guy) and, when we touched down in Atlanta, learned that his flight to Philly was canceled due to Irene (double poor guy). At the baggage claim, I conversed with a guy from Mississippi who, upon learning I was from Berkeley, sneered "Oh that's like the really liberal place. That's like your fight song, right? Are you a liberal?" my answer was insufficient, to say the least. Yes, dude, I think people should be able to live their lives in a way they choose and that we shouldn't be able to pass judgement on the choices they make. Thanks for making it sound like I'm killing puppies.
No, the insane thing that forced serendipity to arrive in my brain like flashing lights on Broadway was what happened in the Atlanta airport, 45min before my flight to SFO was to depart. I was headed toward the gate after a nice dinner of frozen yogurt (if you can't eat crap while traveling, when can you?), when a flash of orange appeared in my left peripheral.
I overcame my lack of ability to turn left to find Brian stopping next to me in his Philadelphia Runner shirt.
[In my mind: duhhhhh WHAT JUST HAPPENED?????]
Exactly one week (almost to the hour... 8pm local time...) after we met on the Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, our paths crossed again, randomly, in an airport on a different continent.
He was on a trip to South America for work, and rather than heading to the international terminal, was sitting in the domestic terminal with some people he had met on his previous flight, having a few beers during the long layover they all had. I happened to walk by as he looked up. What kind of strange coincidence is that?
All in all, it was pretty amusing. I went to join them for a little while before getting on my flight, and we all exchanged contact info, and decided that Brian and the other guy needed to come out to Northern California to join Windee and myself (she's from Sonoma) and do a wine tour. Because heaven knows we'll all run into each other again, in some random airport, at some point. Why not make it on purpose?
I have no idea who or what controls the universe and things that seem to be extremely strange coincidences. But I'm grateful for this serendipity (now it feels like a 6th grade vocabulary word). For better or worse, it gives me a little more confidence that life isn't completely a waste of time, with no rhyme or reason. Or maybe it is. Who knows for sure?
No comments:
Post a Comment