My "Midnight Showing"

Welcome! This is my first official entry. Thanks for reading if you take the time to.


Usually when you're accosted late at night by someone you don't know, common sense tells you to just mind your own business and get the hell out of there.
That advice couldn't have been farther from my mind last night.

Unfortunately...or fortunately I had to park pretty far from my apartment complex where my twin brother and I live, and thus I had a bit of a walk ahead of me. As I began the trek home, an S.U.V. slowly passed me down the street. I didn't think anything of it at first, but when they made a sudden U-turn, I couldn't help but notice. I stopped as the car pulls up next to me. The automatic window in the passenger seat rolls down and inside are two elderly women, maybe in their 70's. Now you might be thinking...just because they're a couple of old ladies, doesn't necessarily mean it's safe to walk up to their car, for goodness sake man, it could have been a fuckin trap or something.

The driver asks how to get back on 280. I'm like "no problem." I begin to recite directions as if it were a recipe on the back of a "Rice A Roni" box.

Granny #1 tells me they aren't from San Jose, and while my directions are very clear, my verbal assistance just isn't doing the job. I've always been a fan of learning by doing anyways, so I offer to get back in my car...and this is at midnight may I add...and show them the way.

After initially thinking the two midnight mamas wanted to get to Bird Ave. in downtown, I eventually stir them in the direction of 280 North. I find a detour near our current location and they were off on their merry way. I rolled down my passenger window (a little bit tougher if you're the only one in the car and you don't have power windows) and I send them off with a wave. Before they took the detour to 280, Granny #1 said "you're wonderful." I responded with a "no problem," and they were gone. I took the long way home that night thinking about what I had just done.

Now I was planning to park in the same place I had originally parked, but I thought I'd give the parking right outside the apartment complex a second shot. Albeit it's about 12:15 A.M. now.
I certainly didn't expect to find what I did...

Just 10 minutes earlier, parking, like usual is packed about as tight as a snare drum, but now a most premium spot happened to make itself available. Right across the street was a huge spot...not just a spot I thought I could squeeze into if I felt I wanted to parallel park it, but a massive one with room to spare. Obviously I take it and I begin the short trip across the street and up to the apartment.

I was thinking, was there some reason why the paths of two lost elderly women and myself happened to intersect that night? Sure it could have been a coincidence, but maybe it wasn't.
Maybe something else other than coincidence told those two sweet little ladies to run into me because that is where they could the answers they were looking for. For whatever reason, I was glad I was there to help.

I've always thought I was lucky, not the kind of lucky that wins you a box of Legos at bingo or when you find $20 on the ground, but kind of like a diamond in the rough "lucky." The kind of thing you may dismiss at first, but eventually find out to be pretty special. I've had a lot of seemingly "lucky" things happen in my life that may not be attributed to just mere coincidence.
I'm going to ride this wave and see what I can make of it. I'll keep you posted.

Like I said before, "Miss Daisy" told me before we went our separate ways I was "wonderful."
From a complete stranger that can be quite a compliment. It certainly wasn't deserving of such praise, but the essence of helping someone else when they're in genuine need may be. I don't know, maybe I'm just a romantic that likes to think there's always some other meaning to things. Even if it isn't the case, it sure does make a good deed seem a helluva lot more cool.

I never did get the names of those two ladies nor did I give mine. A midnight meeting on the street usually isn't the best place to get acquainted, but I did my job and made their lives a bit easier if just for that one moment, and that is a nice feeling. I'm going to end my first blog there for now. If you've read up to this point, thanks for reading. Hopefully I will be able to share some more of my moments with those that care. Hope you enjoyed it, somewhat, and took something positive away from it.

More to come...

Colin