#206 Coincidences
On a recent trip, we boarded our flight in Frankfurt. As we were looking for our seats, a flight attendant looked at me and said, “ah, it’s Karim from Tallinn!” She had been coincidentally in a previous flight and remembered my name from my bank card when I bought something for the boys. Trevor and Daniel think this is all normal.
In 1997, I was visiting Boston. As I walked into a Dunkin’ Donuts, I heard a voice saying, “Karim?!” It was a friend from the neighborhood we had lived in Guatemala ten years prior. I hadn’t seen him since moving away. He took me and my friends dance some salsa.
Coincidences have been a catalyst in my life. Perhaps I’m too greedy for human connection. It’s pure serendipity.
When Janne and I moved to Dublin, I wanted to surprise her by uttering Estonian out of the blue. I was working in IBM as well as 4,500 other people. I asked a friend if she knew any Estonian. She did and put me in touch with a young guy in another department. When I met him, he was curious about why. I told him my story. I asked a few things and, then, I put two and two together: he had grown up right on a street behind Janne’s childhood home.
Trevor asked me to go to the hairdresser to change his hairstyle. I obliged, made an appointment and took him there two days ago. I picked him up after, walked to our car and someone called out my name. One of my closest friends was there with his wife. This is the same friend the boys wanted to visit in Seattle. My friend’s wife immediately offered to take them to the Tallinn Zoo. They did today. This reminded me that caring friends will fill the gaps in our lives.
When I came to study in Germany, I was assigned to the wrong German course. They kept me there for a week. One day, Janne walked into the room and sat on the only seat available, next to me. If I had been in the right class, we probably wouldn’t have connected. Two days later, they sent me to the right group, but I was already smitten. This fateful moment changed my life.
I always go out thinking of Janne. Maybe she isn’t dead, but just walking around town. It would be nice to run into her. That would be quite the coincidence.
