A Chance Encounter?

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Chance Encounters?
Okay, normally I would say that I don’t believe in ‘chance encounters’. I have often been quoted as saying: “Nothing is accidental or coincidental; it’s all purposeful”. But, when I look back, some of the events in my life, while they did serve purpose, do seem to be ‘chance’ meetings. A chance in a lifetime.
Reacting to one of my early ‘70’s obsessions, I joined an e-group of Jackson Browne fans. Reading through the emails that ranged from silly to downright profound, a lister’s comment concerning her home in the mountains of N.C. got my attention. Who in this small Appalachian community was a Jackson fan like me?
Ironically, this member lived right near me in the same county. When I pulled up behind her red car at the Tokyo restaurant where we planned to meet face to face, I wondered how I could have missed her as a Jackson fan as her car was covered in Jackson bumper stickers and her license tag spelled out a familiar Jackson song. Needless to say, we became fast friends.
Josie, (names in this story are changed to protect the unhealthy and not the innocent), had been a Jackson fan for as many years as I had, and she had dreamed of meeting her favorite singer/songwriter. She tearfully expressed her sorrow that she probably wouldn’t ever meet Jackson because she had found a suspicious lump the size of a plum and her prognosis wasn’t good.
Weeks later, hearing that Jackson was coming to the east coast, we bought tickets and planned our Thelma and Louise road trip to Atlanta where we would ultimately meet other Jackson fan-actics from our email list. And where I planned for Josie to meet Jackson.
Every day for the next month, as I drove to work, I looked out over the blues and pinks of the mountains shimmering in the new day sun and mentally drew Jackson to me, inviting him to meet Josie as the Atlanta show. I did this religiously, chanting a mantra, “Jackson, I am calling you to meet Josie after the show.” I believed it; I envisioned it; I affirmed it. Every conversation I had with Josie ended with these prophetic words, “You’re gonna meet Jackson!”
The acoustic show was even more wonderful than predicted due to an upgrade on tickets from two “strangers” who also loved Jackson and who even supplied us with wine and food. After the show, Josie and I stood in the moist summer air with a small group of fellow Jackson admirers outside of the gate of the venue. Faithfully, we waited. I assured everyone that I had called Jackson forth, and he would be coming out to meet and greet one and all. Time passed. We waited.
A Jackson roadie came out and politely but firmly informed us that Jackson had to travel all night to do a show in, no not Chicago or Detroit, I really don’t know, I think it was Florida. You know, he does so many shows in a row and these towns all look the same. In other words, Jackson had a long overnight bus ride ahead of him, and he wasn’t showing.
My spirit was not daunted. I believed. And Josie and I stayed awhile longer. In fact, no one left.
Forty-five minutes later, the bus cranked up and headed to the gate. “Don’t worry; he’ll stop”, I said. But just for good measure, I yelled Jackson’s name. My cause was noble. The planets were perfectly aligned tonight for my cancer-stricken friend to meet Jackson tonight.
The bus wasn’t stopping. This just couldn’t be. I fought back tears. The damp air felt suddenly chilly.
Then, the bus stopped; Jackson stepped off, and the first words he said, and I am telling the truth here, were: “I didn’t know you were waiting for me out here”. He was looking right at Josie and me.
Josie got her picture made with Jackson’s arm around her, both smiling as my camera froze the moment. The photograph is one of her most valued of possessions and the one that she looked at to remind herself of miracles. Her miracles? Meeting Jackson and being completely cured of cancer.
A chance encounter? I’m not sure about that. But what were the chances of two hot girls meeting Jackson on a summer night only a week before chemo was to begin for Josie? Pretty slim, I’d say. But then again, the universe responds when we ask for a gift for someone else with all our heart and mind. There are no accidents or coincident; it’s all purposeful.