Of all the places in all of the world

timoc

timoc

Well-known Member
Location
UK
Have you ever found yourself in some unfamiliar place and meeting someone from the distant past?

I was holidaying in Scotland, and found my way to Wigtown where I found some fantastic bookshops.
I bought a few books and I was on the way out of one of the shops just as a lady was coming in.
I had my arms full of items and was moving one way then the other to let her pass, when she spoke and said, "Is your name Tim?"
I was taken completely by surprise and heard myself say, "Yes, it is, do we know each other?"
"Onchan Head, Isle of Man, 1961, I'm Rita", she smiled.
My brain was whirring about 200 miles a second, then I remembered.
"You were on your way to catch the boat back home to Glasgow and the last words I remember you saying were......'A penny for your thoughts, tuppence if I'm in them", I said proudly.
She gave me a broad smile, "That's right, fancy you remembering that,"
Then we found a little cafe where we sat for a few hours reminiscing.
We now still keep touch and occasionally meet up.

Come on lovely people, you all have these kind of stories.
 

Maybe three decades ago, I was at a banquet hall (can't remember for what occasion) and Bill, who was on my staff at Rockaway Sales when I was 18-19, was bar tending. I was hired as the toy department manager for the store when I was 18. We were all young in that store and had a lot of fun working together. It was a pleasant surprise to see him.

Several years ago my son was at an event and ran into a classmate I hadn't seen since grammar school. When he came back and told me he'd had a conversation with Claude B and he remembered me...I couldn't believe it. In fact, I forgot how they got into a conversation in the first place.
 

Not about me but about a friend of mine. He had been estranged from his family during his marriage, and when he divorced he took a trip of a lifetime travelling for 3 months through India by train .. and during the trip several weeks in, the train stopped in Calcutta , thousands of people milling around as always, and the train was supposed to go on it's way within an hour, but it had engine trouble, so it had to stay longer for repair, so the passengers took themselves off to sightsee a little bit.

My friend said he thought he was losing his mind because above all the noise , he swore he could hear his name being called over and over.. and he kept looking around and couldn't see anyone.. then he looked up, and on the flat roof of a nearby building was a group of people, and his own brother who he'd not seen in years, calling his name.

neither knew the other was in India, much less in the same place at the exact same time...
 
A few:

Living in Florida I was working with a group in Washington DC, and after meeting a couple of times one of the women asked if I remembered her. Honestly I did not but tried, she finally told me that we had been neighbors in Wyoming 20 years earlier. Then I remembered.

I was rehabbing an old building in Florida and a guy came up and offered his labor. I did for cash, but did not learn his last name. After a few days he told me that he had worked for me before, in Wyoming. It was only after he knew the names of others that I even believed him, but it was true. He had aged a lot.

I was fishing in Chitina, Alaska, a very small town down a 50 mile dead end dirt road. The only place to eat was an old school bus converted to a make shift diner selling food out the windows. While in line I recognized a distinctive voice of someone I had known in Utah many years earlier. But he did not look familiar, now being old and bald. Finally I remembered his name and said it, he quickly turned around and, it was him.

Had a few airport experiences, but as much as I used to travel that was not surprising. The oddest was running into a woman at the airport in Vienna, Austria whom I had worked with in Washington.

Makes you wonder if a witness protection program could really ever work.
 
Last edited:
I walked out of my ex's condo and while standing in the hall, a woman greeted me by name. I had no idea who she was until she explained that we went to high school together. "Oh, you!" It came back to me, after not seeing her for well over 50 years. The next thing she said was, "Do you remember (guy's name withheld to protect the less innocent)? I recently ran into him and he is still gorgeous." I am sure that I blushed, because that guy was my first semi-intimate encounter (which back in the day was really tame!)
 
Just thought of another one. When I was in my early 20's one of my best friends, "Page" was also a good friend of my cousin. He had taken me to my senior prom because my socially inept boyfriend didn't want to go. Once at Christmastime, I was telling him I couldn't buy my little boy anything because I had to use my money to pay rent. He asked what time was my lunch next day. Next day he met me at work and gave me the extra money I needed to do both. I never asked him to do that. He was such a good friend for a few years. After he got married, we lost touch. A little more than a decade ago, I was in the hospital visiting, took a break and went out into the hallway. I saw my cousin who had also come to visit our relative and we were talking when I saw "Page" walk by. I hadn't seen him in decades so excused myself and called out to him. We sat and talked for a short time. I made sure to let him know how much I appreciated his friendship and told him he was one of the best friends I ever had. I haven't seen or spoken with him since.
 
I did meet a safety officer from a job in England, while driving
in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, I was driving up the extinct
volcano, when I saw, Conrad and his wife stopped at the side
of the road drinking tea, I stopped to see if they needed help
and got a cup of tea for being polite.

Mike.
 
Mike said:
I did meet a safety officer from a job in England, while driving
in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, I was driving up the extinct
volcano, when I saw, Conrad and his wife stopped at the side
of the road drinking tea, I stopped to see if they needed help
and got a cup of tea for being polite.

Mike.
Click to expand...
Mike, you might want to stop and help people north of the border in 'kilt country', you may be offered a dram or two, or even three 😊
 
About two years ago, I went to meet a friend in another town for coffee. On my way back home, I stopped into a grocery store in that town. I picked up a few things and got in line to check out. There was a woman checking out in front of me. She was talking to the cashier, and after a minute of listening, I thought I recognized her voice and looked more closely at her. It was an old, very good friend of mine that I hadn't seen in forty years! When she saw me, the look on her face was priceless! 😲 We've been in touch ever since and occasionally meet for dinner.

That said, I've seen other people that I've known in the past, and I've run in the opposite direction before they saw me. I didn't want to talk to them let alone reconnect. Sometimes it's better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Bella ✌️
 
Bella said:
...That said, I've seen other people that I've known in the past, and I've run in the opposite direction before they saw me. I didn't want to talk to them let alone reconnect. Sometimes it's better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Bella ✌️
Click to expand...
That's exactly how I felt when seeing people I knew at domestic and foreign airports! I'm on vacation, darn it! I want to feel free of all former ties!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top