A Couple Odd Coincidences (long)

[NJCher]

I lost my driver's license and I have an airline trip coming up next week. Big problem.

I am always losing my license. I'll bet I've had to have it replaced four times in the past two years. I can't find my birth certificate, either, so with all the post-911 rules for getting a license, the chances are I'd have to cancel my flight over this and take quite a financial loss.

I had to take the license out of its usual place in my glove compartment (I wouldn't dare carry it around in a purse--I lose purses more than I lose licenses!) to give the number to a new school I'm teaching at. I don't recall a thing about putting it away. I just know that when I went to look for it in its usual place, it was gone.

So I reviewed the rules for getting a birth certificate in the state where I was born and it appears that if you can produce a photocopy of the license, you can get a birth certificate. I had a copy of the license scanned in so I printed it out last night after class. But oops! I sent it to the wrong printer!! This valuable document was sent to the wrong printer!!

Realizing what computer lab it was sent to, I raced down the hall and retrieved it just as it was coming out of the machine. It was late at night anyway, so there were only two students left in the lab.

I raced back to my now-empty classroom and took the printout of the license scan to my briefcase. In the briefcase were some file folders that my neighbor gave me to reuse. I had never replaced the file tabs and one was her label and it said "OOPS Reprint."

Anyway, it seemed like "OOPS Reprint" was an appropriate file in which to put my driver's license printout, since I'd just had an "oops" moment and it actually was a reprint.

So I open up the file and....there is my real driver's license. Yep, shiny little hard plastic thing with all its hologram seals and my picture.

I was just dumbfounded. I had no idea how my drivers license got into that file.

Was the jinn playing tricks on me again?

Second Story, Same Evening

So even though it's late, I recall that there was an article from The New Yorker that I wanted to read. Since my printer at home had a jam and I knew I wasn't up to fixing it after a long evening in class, I decided to print it out before I left. The article was on art forgery and I had seen it appear about three weeks ago. I bookmarked it.

But I couldn't find it! I looked everywhere and used the search engine at The New Yorker site but to no avail. The article wasn't even that old and yet I still could not find it at magazine's web site. I gave up and went home and had no good bedtime reading.

The next morning I went to get my hair trimmed. Unfortunately my stylist, Dorothy (you may remember her as the minister-hairstylist) was busy so I had to wait. A mother was having haircuts done for two young kids, about 10 and 14. One had already had his hair cut and sitting there with a surly attitude while his mother waited for the other to get finished. It was a long wait and I definitely needed something interesting to read.

The mother notes the surly attitude and says to the kid, "I just finished reading this interesting article about art forgery. Would you like to read it?" The kid sits there with his arms folded and declines. I glance at the magazine and think, "Could it be?

So I let five minutes pass so the kid could change his mind if he wanted and then I said to the mother, "That wouldn't happen to be the New Yorker, would it?" and she responded yes. I asked if she could give me the date off the cover to help me track down the article. She responded by handing me the magazine and saying, "It's yours!" There was the article I wanted to read!


Cher

[Celebration]

1. Wow, These are GREAT stories

I really love the last one. In any case, are you "living right"? It sure seems like it. :hi:

Actually, it is possible to fly without a license, I am pretty sure. It just means you get there earlier and submit to all sorts of searches. Check with the airlines, though.

Have a nice trip!

[Kookaburra]

2. That's what my family refers to as serendipity

These kinds of things happen to us all the time, and we love the serendipity.

[elleng]

3. Great stories! Mine:

Saw a name on facebook Tuesday, and wrote, 'Are you Dan, Amy's brother? Amy was a friend of mine in high school.' He writes back, "I remember you," and we continue with long chats about friends and family. For context, I graduated high school early '60s, so its been a while since I've been in touch with Amy and Dan!

SO, yesterday, out shopping with a friend, cell call: 'Ellen? Remember me? Its Richard!!!' Worked with Richard 25-30 years ago, he departed right coast for left coast 20? years ago, and office closed, so WE've been out of touch for ages! He and family coming East (for his daughter's college,) so will have dinner with them Sunday!

Coincidence??? :-)

[elleng]

4. In addition, 5th Grade classmate just posted pic of my/our 5th grade class!!!

'Someones' telling me look back to the 'future???'

Rick, you looking???

E