One of Those Things
A couple of years ago, my friend Scotty and I were out for a drive, just riding around the countryside of west central Florida. We were talking about how much life had changed since our "growing-up" years - him in Florida, me in Pennsylvania.
I mentioned that one thing I missed was drive-in movies - what a hit they were in the 1950's and '60s. Double features, "Buck Night" (where a whole carload of people got in for one dollar), the concession stand, the playground in front of the big screen. We both sighed with nostalgia. (Although I suspect he was remembering hiding in trunks and other hijinks!). We agreed, it was too bad that drive-ins had gone the way of 8-track tapes, Maypo, and Brilcream.
Then, as we drove around a bend in the road, voila! There in plain sight was an actual drive-in movie theater! Abandoned, of course, but nonetheless there it was! We looked at each other and laughed for miles! Scotty said, "Well, it's just another 'one of those things' I guess."
"One of those things" was a special code between me and Scotty - coincidences; things you happen to mention or notice, and suddenly there's some kind of affirmation. You talk about some obscure event in history, and out of nowhere, you hear it mentioned on the news, including context you didn't know before. You think of an old friend, and they mysteriously show up the next day at a mall you are visiting in Omaha. You casually recall a phrase from an old song, and 10 minutes later the whole song plays on the radio.
Scotty's been gone for a while now, but these events still happen to me. This gets me to wondering if these affirmations are actually part of a divine conversation? I discovered it in my relationship with Scotty, and it was awesome to share that with him. But as this phenomenon continues, maybe I should be paying more attention to it. Maybe I should even be cultivating the conversation.
I mentioned that one thing I missed was drive-in movies - what a hit they were in the 1950's and '60s. Double features, "Buck Night" (where a whole carload of people got in for one dollar), the concession stand, the playground in front of the big screen. We both sighed with nostalgia. (Although I suspect he was remembering hiding in trunks and other hijinks!). We agreed, it was too bad that drive-ins had gone the way of 8-track tapes, Maypo, and Brilcream.
Then, as we drove around a bend in the road, voila! There in plain sight was an actual drive-in movie theater! Abandoned, of course, but nonetheless there it was! We looked at each other and laughed for miles! Scotty said, "Well, it's just another 'one of those things' I guess."
"One of those things" was a special code between me and Scotty - coincidences; things you happen to mention or notice, and suddenly there's some kind of affirmation. You talk about some obscure event in history, and out of nowhere, you hear it mentioned on the news, including context you didn't know before. You think of an old friend, and they mysteriously show up the next day at a mall you are visiting in Omaha. You casually recall a phrase from an old song, and 10 minutes later the whole song plays on the radio.
Scotty's been gone for a while now, but these events still happen to me. This gets me to wondering if these affirmations are actually part of a divine conversation? I discovered it in my relationship with Scotty, and it was awesome to share that with him. But as this phenomenon continues, maybe I should be paying more attention to it. Maybe I should even be cultivating the conversation.
posted by Kathy at 10/04/2009 10:14:00 AM
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