A friend of mine returned to town last week. Like countless others in recent years, he, and his family, migrated out of the state of California. In any event, I missed his call as I had left my phone in the car.

We quickly made contact and, predictably, he wanted to get together and get stoned. It is so like him to expect me to drop what I am doing… Not wanting to reveal my current living situation – and frankly, annoyed at him for not giving me some heads up – I declined. The AM is way too early to get stoned. For me anyway.

He indicated in our conversation that it might be difficult to get together as, his return brief, he was trying to visit as many as possible. Understandable.

The following afternoon I shot him a text asking if he would be available the following afternoon; he indicated he would, but for just a couple of hours. Resigned to the fact that we weren’t going to get together during his brief return, I prepared to return to the work week.

On Friday evening last, near the end of my route, while making a delivery, I heard a familiar voice as I approached the front porch. Before even turning the corner on the path to the porch I knew who it was. “No {bleep}’n way!!!” my friend yelled as I emerged from around a hedge to the porch. He was visiting a customer on my route.

Context: The delivery location is in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles. This area, part of the City of Los Angeles – by itself – would be the sixth or seventh largest city in the U.S. I’ve read. Of all the people to run into on my route. I wonder what the odds would’ve been.

“This is a sign,” I said, as we embraced. We gave each other a quick hug, the ‘bro’s shake, and a fist pump. It was a surreal moment. Unintentionally, we ignored his friend – my customer. She was smiling.

We asked each other about availability in the next 24 hours…couldn’t work it out. I’m working late – he’s heading home Sunday.

I returned to work. We got together, as it turned out, for about a minute.

The encounter – the unscheduled rendezvous – kept me on a natural high for the rest of the day. I texted him late Friday evening to convey my thoughts:

“That was a sign bro’. This is what I’d like to think: Someone, somewhere – Aldo – your moms (Aldo, his brother, and his mother have passed) – was saying ‘You best let (my friend) know he’s appreciated…’ You are – always have been 😊 Paying my karma bill lately – long overdue. I’m going to come out of it a better person. Running into you tonight was a confirmation – a gift, a blessing. Thank you. Thank you for lifting my wavering, spiritual faith. I hope a lot of that karma blows your way as well😊 😊 😊”

I’m not a religious person but I do believe…Translation: I’ve got the best of both worlds – I can believe and not have to attend church 😊

I do believe our brief encounter was a sign. Perhaps many. I’ll reveal two right here:

1. Make time for the people you care about – who care about you,
2. We can make progress in our lives – even in tough times.

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