SERENDIPITY.....on the road

Things like the following have happened to me so much over the years, even more so since I started this journey. I want to remember every one of them. I've decided to write them here so that when I'm 85 and sitting in my rocking chair on a front porch (who knows where?), I can relive them again with joy and wonder!

Serendipity #6: The other night I watched a TV program about manatees, a marine mammal I'd never seen until I got to Florida. They remind me of whales, but they are much smaller (about the size of dolphins). They have two small fins in the front and a broad tail, much like a beaver. They are gentle giants who eat only plants. The TV program showed a life-size manatee and her baby being carved out of wood in preparaton for the whole process of casting it in bronze. The really amazing thing was that when I walked to the Daytona Beach Community College library the next day, there was the sculpture! It was mounted on a piece of bronze driftwood right in the middle of a pool. I was astounded by this serendipitous happening. I gazed at the manatee from all angles for a very long time. Right now, I am sitting at a table in the shade very close to it. I never tire of looking at it. It's things like this that make my journey so magical. (4/24/04)

Serendipity #5: Walking out of a bookstore in Key West, Florida, I noticed a small, thick book with the title Instant Karma. Now, I'm VERY interested in Karma, strongly believing in it. I like this definition of karma: What you put out, you get back. I randomly opened the book, and the sentence at the top of the page said something like: Treat every ordinary experience as extraordinary. I was blown away because the title of my book is "Wanderings: Living the Ordinary Extraordinarily." (This happened on 4/04/04 - Do you think the date had something to do with it?)

Serendipity #4: On a whim, I parked by one of the many paths to the beach in San Francisco for a walk along the ocean. I couldn't help but notice the fully-clothed woman playing in the waves. She turned out to be the woman I saw dancing at the casino in Sequim, Washington two months earlier. (See "Sapphire in the Ocean" People Link #16 ) 12/02

Serendipity #3: I lost one quarter and within 24 hours had found four more in three separate places! (See "The Story of the Five Quarters" Life Link #10 ) 10/02

Serendipity #2: Through my business "Jane of All Trades," I was working temporarily at a law firm in Seattle. I was asked to deliver something to another firm. I wrote the directions on a piece of paper, read them, and stuck them in my pocket. When I neared my destination, I reached in my pocket for the directions, and they weren't there; so I had to rely on my memory, and I found the place. That evening after work, I took a different route home, one I had never traveled before. I zigzagged in and out along the downtown streets. When I was quite a way from where I started, I looked down at a piece of paper on the ground. Interesting, I thought, that looks like my handwriting. I was curious enough to pick it up, and it was the very same note I had lost earlier in the day! I was speechless; how could that be? I was blocks from the route I traveled on that errand. (1979)

Serendipity #1: How I found my first place to live after my divorce. (See "The Very First Message from the Universe" Stories Link #36) 1977

M&M #6: On the way back to the RV park, I stopped at Safeway for some milk to go with my lemon cake. I grabbed $1 and all my change. The milk cost $1.63. I put all my money on the counter, and it totaled $1.63 exactly. Just a little minor miracle to end the day.(8/13/07)

M&M #5: After driving Hwy 1, I was ready to stop for the night and have breakfast at Bon Temps in the morning. I felt I should get off 101 before it headed further south and made a random right turn. Lo and behold, there was the restaurant! The amazing thing was I didn't have any idea where bon Temps was located and couldn't even remember the name! (10/26/06)

M&M #4: I needed ice, and the only nearby store open at 6:00 a.m. was McDonald's. While the guy was filling my two ice cups, I asked if he knew where the closest YMCA was. The man next to me said, "I work there." So, at 6:00 in the morning, in the middle of San Francisco, I just happened to be standing next to a man who worked at the YMCA. How weird is that? (10/19/06)

M&M #3: While in Toledo, Oregon, I went into a second-hand store and picked up a book of poetry The Family Book of Best Loved Poems. It was only $1, but what convinced me to buy it was that when I opened it randomly, the poem I opened to was "Barbara Frietchie" --- the name of the building where I owned my co-op apartment in Seattle. (8/30/06)

M&M #2: I went to the Thursday night outdoor movie in Key West for the first time. At the drawing that night, the third number called was my number, and the prize was a huge beach towel. I could hardly believe it since I had lost my regular towel that very same day! (4/04)

M&M #1: My friend Lyn, who lives in New Hampshire, was in Las Vegas when she received the "Chicken Philosophy" from me via email. She said she was reading an article about The Chicken Store and Katha, the owner, in the newspaper on her way to the library where she received my email.