coincidence

[paddyinthepub]

I noticed on Ellis' myspace he lists coincidence as an influence....among many. Just went out there to make sure it was coincidence and not coincidences not that it matters since they seem to come in droves at times anyway(s). :P

Thought about all the coincidences I've heard about or experienced firsthand lately and thought it might make a cool topic out here.

So I'll start with this one:

We lived in Pittsburgh for 2.5 years back in 1998 thru 2000.....just back for a visit this summer 2006 and staying at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh. There only a couple days. My wife takes a side trip over to Shadyside, roughly 15 - 20 minutes away by car. It's a cool neighboorhood full of good restaurants, shops, bars, salons. My wife stops in to the salon where she always used to have here hair done. She shops a few hair products, she sees the guy that cut my hair a few times and then prepares to check out. My wife asks the folks behind the counter if CiCi is around so she can say "HI". No, CiCi is on vacation this week. So my wife simply leaves a note to say : stopped by and hope all is well.


Later that evening, we walk out of the Hotel to begin our dinner and music date (Bill Deasy at Club Cafe) and we cross the street to our car parked on the curb in front of the Hotel. It's 5:00 pm or so on a summer evening so it's plenty light out. Just as my wife and I are about to get into our car, someone crosses the street in our direction and thinks they recognise my wife for some reason. As I look over at this girl saying to my wife " I think I know you from somewhere " - I shout out : " CiCi " and the laughs and smiles and brief reunion begin.

CiCi had been " doing hair " for a Wedding Party at our Hotel that day and just finished up and left out the front door about a minute after we had.

I just love it when coincidence happens.

One more quick one: Pittsburgh, to me has always meant Three River Stadium. Just an Old rivalry between our Houston Oilers And their Pittsburgh Steelers. When I moved there I marveled at the beauty of the city Where the 2 rivers ( Allegheny and Monongahelia ) come together to form the 3rd river ( The Ohio ). So when I went out to Ellis' myspace to check on his mention of coincidence as influence to start this topic, what pops up but the song:

Where The River Rolls.


What a coincidence!

Anyone Else ?

[Richard + Jela]

Some years ago we went on holiday to Canada, we flew out on a Sunday and the previous day had found out that some neighbours had already gone to Canada for their holiday. We were in Montreal, visiting the catherdral and who should we see but our neighbours who had no idea that we were also in Canada. The chances of bumping into someone who lives across the road, some 3000 or so miles away must be zillions to one.

Another time we were in Boston airport waiting to fly home and met a family also returning to the UK, the husband worked for the same organisation as we did at the time and although we didn't know him personally, we knew him through business - coincidence or what?

They do say that the world is getting smaller don't they?

Jela

[paddyinthepub]

I'll say the world seems to be getting smaller - all the time.

My wife's mom had only just told her strange coincidence story to me the first time on the morning before bumping into CiCi later that day.

Hers was similar to yours Jela, in that she was travelling far, far from home - Cleveland, Ohio to Bangkok, Thailand - back in the mid - 70's.

She's in line for some tourist type visit to an ancient temple and who does she strike up a conversation with but a couple from Cleveland, Ohio.

It went even deeper, maybe a high school connection or better, but it did make her think: how weird is that?

[Sue Ellen]

A couple of weeks ago, on a trip to Maine, I was on the NJ turnpike. I pulled out the LIVE cd, which I hadn't listened to for a couple of months. As "Did Galileo Pray?" was blaring, I passed a mini-van from Maryland with the license plate: GALILEO.

Sue Ellen

[paddyinthepub]

Sue Ellen and All:

That's what I'm talking about.........

Thanks for that one SE and here's a license plate I got a kick out of on my trip to Maine recently. I almost started a thread of it's own based upon this one very cool license plate:


MUSTDV8

[paddyinthepub]

It happened again today. My wife has been battling a sinus infection for a week now and today we saw the doctor. I'd seen him once before, earlier in the year. We are new to the area and a friend recommended him. So as my wife goes up to fill out all necessary paperwork, a woman, our age it seems, is walking out from her doctor visit. They instantly realise they know the face of each other. But from where? And when?

Cleveland Ohio.....mid 70's.

They were buds from Jr.High......age 14.....mutual friends and all that. My wife had attended her wedding as well. That was a lifetime ago. The woman had one of her children with her. It was her 14 yr. old daughter.
A young girl the same age as these two long lost friends were when they met.

Of all the Doctors offices available to us, of all the times my wife could have picked to finally admit she needed to see a doctor for her ailment. Likewise her old friend and whatever brought her in to see her doctor today. You can make appointments all day long and these two old friends cross paths just like that?

That's a coincidence.

[Jalapenos]

Wanna talk coincidences? The 20 I got at the atm yesterday said "Katie" on it in pink gel pen. Had I stopped to blow my nose before walking out of the house, the burly construction worker behind me would have gotten it. I took it as a sign of good luck and then got an interview later that day. Coincidence? Maybe not...

[paddyinthepub]

A highway sign y'day caught my son's eye. When he said "hey look", my first reaction was a loud YEE HAH.

At the very same instant, my wife was typing a text message to a colleague. He had sent her an email with news that the 12 hour surgery his daughter was undergoing was going better than planned.

Pam had typed the word YEE and was about to type HAH when she heard me holler out YEE HAH.

She paused at the coincidence of it all.

We could hardly believe the odds of that happening.

Think about it.

[paddyinthepub]

Walked into a local mom and pop used bookstore y'day and asked the fellow who ran the place if he kept records of who bought which books. Why would I do that? Could swear I bought Into the Wild there about 6 months ago and if he could verify yes or no I'd either tear my place apart lookin for it or know to save time and buy "my first copy" of the book.

He has sold two since opening the store, and neither copy to me. Okay, that was settled. That's when deja vu set in. I must have inquired about the book once upon a visit to the place, lilkely after seeing it appear on Ellis' website as one he recommends. Again, as 6 months ago, the owner leads me over to a copy of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and tells me AGAIN that he has a bone to pick with Mr. Krakauer. Seems our local bookshop owner is in the book, albeit in a small way. He had commented somewhere (perhaps a book club) that he felt this or that about Jon's book and it wound up on the pages of the book.

Anyway.

[paddyinthepub]

I got carded recently. Can you imagine? I can see 50 all to clearly.

I'll set the scene. Just as Bill Deasy and the Full Band were being introduced to the stage of Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh, the drink waiter dude squats down beside our table and says to me: ''what'll ya have?"

It's kind of hard to talk over the emcee, who is bellowing out info about Bill Deasy's website and merch back in the corner and the like. It reminded me of the way announcers introduce prize fighters at boxing matches, you know, the "let's get ready to R-U-M-B-L-E" kind of loud.

I'll have a Yuengling, I tell the guy, just as Bill and the boys start into their first song. It's the full band, and the volume at Hard Rock is cranked up.

"Need to see ID" he says to me. After a few exchanges that went alot like:

"Your kidding, right?"....and......."No, I'm not kidding"

I present my ID. He takes a look at it. His eyes widen with excitement, his mouth drops open. Okay, I'm thinking to myself, BIG DEAL, I look younger than my years, just bring me a beer and let me enjoy the first song, PLEASE.

BUT, NOOOOOO!!!

He pulls his ID out of his wallet, plops it down on the table next to my ID, and points to something on his ID gesturing that I should look at his ID to see this amazing coincidence.

I AM READY TO R-U-M-B-L-E at this point, let me tell you. Okay buddy, I'm thinking, what is it??? We share a Birthday??? So I take a look at his ID, and of course COULD NOT SEE A THING without my reading glasses on. I thought about faking it, you know, "OH, okay, I see it, WOW, How about that? I'd say it with a smile and he'd be off to get my beer.

But NOOOOOO!!!

I fumble for my reading glasses, put them on, and look down to see what all the fuss was about. Like I said, I figure it's a shared birthday. Nope. This young beer fetcher was excited for a different reason. We did not share a Birthday at all, not that I looked at his Date of Birth. What caught my eye on his ID was what had caught his eye on my ID.

We lived in the same town, the same zip code, 300 miles to the east of Pittsburgh, outside of Philly. It was a coincidence. I was ready to move on, the music from the stage beckoning my attention. A beer and some space was all I really wanted at that moment.

BUT NOOOOOO!!!

He proceeds to tell me just where it is he lives in my town, practically a mapquest version. Right down to the elementary school he lives behind. You guessed it.....the one our child attends. I stayed quiet.

Lucky for me, he left to get my beer. Maybe lucky for him.

For I was surely, at that point, ready to R-U-M-B-L-E.

[bonuela]

My favorite story about being id'd happened last year. I left my id in the car several blocks away. They would not let me in to an 18+ show. I was 39. There is no way I can pass for 17. Even if I could, what difference does it make? Couldn't they just put the big "underage" X on my hand and let me pass, alcohol free to see the band? The kid at the door said, "I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't let you in without ID." Ma'am? MA'AM?!? How can you say I might be too young AND call me ma'am at the same time? Needless to say I walked all the way back to the car.

[SusanH]

I'll add on to Bonnie's story...

A few weeks (months) later, same club, we're standing in line and Bonnie asks me if I have my ID, of course I don't (I'm forever forgetting). Bonnie warns me...they won't let you in.

So I took a sharpie, made my own big black x's on my hands and stood in the back of they crown as they went around checking ID's.

Got in no problem!

Paddy, just so you know, many places card no matter what age. Your grandfather could go to Fenway Park and they'd card him for a beer!

[paddyinthepub]

A few days ago, at Costco, I purchased 3 CDs I had planned on wrapping and placing under the Christmas tree for my wife. I carelessly left them out in the open allowing my wife to see them. After seeing the new music she found me and said "hey honey, nice choice of music!"

"Ahhhhhhh" I said, out loud. "You weren't supposed to see those."

"No, honey, nice choice of music" she said again. Only this time she added that she had only days earlier, while out Christmas shopping, picked up the very same 3 CDs I'd planned on giving her.

She had wrapped them as a gift to me from our son. He still gets a kick out of the story about the Christmas a few years ago when my wife and I each went out and bought Tivos for each other, not knowing the other had. My only regret there was returning one of them.

In case you're wondering.....

James Taylor -- One Man Band
James Blunt -- All the Lost Souls
Robert Plant|Alison Krauss -- Raising Sand

[paddyinthepub]

"it's like kissin yer sister"

My uncle used that term once decribing something he was talking about, Don't recall the details but I always use it when somethin's just not right. The situation has to call for it......can't site an example right now, really, but trust me, it works when it works.

Which brings me to this coincidence:

I'm currently aware of this very unusal coincidence. Not once but twice.

My sister's two oldest children are Jason (25) and Michelle (23) and they are both currently dating people with the same name as their sibling.

So, my nephew Jason is dating a Michelle.
And, my niece Michelle is dating a Jason.

If that's not strange enough on it's own.....there is this coincidence.

On my wife's side......same thing!

My sister in law's kids are both high school age.

Sarah is 18 and Jordan is 16.

My niece Sarah is dating a Jordan.
My nephew Jordan is dating a Sarah.

"it's like kissin your sister"