Ruminating on “Random”…
I told a stranger that I loved him yesterday morning.
He phoned me in the afternoon to say that he really appreciated the uplifting text message but that he doubted it had landed where intended. Oops. We laughed; I thanked him for calling and promptly updated my niece’s cell phone listing!
The memory made me laugh later during my afternoon run. And then sent my brain on a random, free association flight that ended only when I climbed back in my truck forty minutes later…
As I ran a steady uphill grade I thought about my own compulsion to dial back those who send me errant voice-mail messages. It truly bothers me that someone might wait in vain for a return call to a phone message never received. Sometimes I find matter-of-fact receptionist voices in my recordings; sometimes the voice is of one parent trying to tempt another into additional duties (and I have to wonder, “Am I doing the right thing here…?!). And sometimes, I hear words that ride on a tone rich with additional meanings that must be heard by the intended ear.
I phone all my voice-mail strangers back with a, “Sorry; I think you accidentally dialed my number…” It’s kind of a “have to” for me, like letting at least one car turn into the lane I’m traveling along and giving the right-of-way to pedestrians on cold days (or when they have children, or are elderly, or look sad…). You probably don’t want to be in the car driving behind me.
As I circled a long loop through a sudden and dazzling flurry of white snow, I remembered moving to Lima, Ohio in the early 90’s and losing a weekly TV job
opportunity when my phone service didn’t move with me. And then I remembered how I cherished every moment of caring for the daughter who blazed into my world shortly thereafter. No loss there at all…
Refreshed by splashes of wet snow, I sailed back down a hill toward my truck and grinned yet again as I remembered my Tar Heel friend…
We were on vacation in North Carolina: my ex-husband, our three children, and the multitude that is “my family”. My cell phone, a gift to maximize communication as my dad faded from this world, was still fairly new to me.
Which is why I kept dialing Bill… His local number matched my ex-husband’s local (in Columbus) number. And I just couldn’t remember to manually dial and add an area code. So, every time I punched the phone book entry for my ex, I talked to Bill… Who was terribly nice to his consistent “wrong number.” At first it was a little embarrassing, but he started saying, “until next time” as the week wore on and gradually shared a little about himself; retired with grown children and a lovely wife. He often heard my own kids in the background as I was driving to the grocery, expecting to determine a grocery necessity from my ex…
By the end of the week, I thought Bill was a pretty nice guy and had to call him one last time as we drove out of his area code. I wished him a good week; he said, “talk to you next year…” and here I am remembering a complete stranger simply because he was kind.
Random moments matter, it seems.
Motivating, huh…?
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This is one of my favorites you are so good at pointing out the small things in life and making them so very special. Thank you heather, t ( love the pictures as well ).
A real tender story…
Sometimes it gets so rough out there that the simple gesture by the stranger almost seems monumental…
Just wanted to drop in and say hi because we have befriended each other on blogcatalog. Love the cold wintery photos. We’re sliding out of summer over here in New zealand and it’s a litle sad to see it fading away.
Hey Todd,
Thanks for calling them “small” instead of “trivial”; ha! My brain kind of wanders right along with my feet when I run ipod-less…
Thanks Adrian,
I guess there’s nothing simple about kindness, huh?
Suzanne, I bookmarked your site the other day. Great writing and some good resources in your links!
I enjoy the snow as long as conditions don’t confine us indoors. An early spring would not disappoint me! How cool does a New Zealand winter get?
We use celcius and I don’t understand farenheit well but we get no lower than about 10 degrees celcius in Auckland in the north, which is not too bad. We have a temperate climate here - not too high in summer and not too low in winter.
Thanks for bookmarking my site and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great photo and post.
You must have died when a stranger called you back. Did your face turn red? 
Hugs, JJ
JJ Loch,
Umm… probably!! The way I see it though: it’s better to send “I love you!” or “Call me!” to an anonymous stranger than to, say, my doctor -whose name comes up next to my son Zach’s in my phone directory. Or to the soccer coach whose name lists next to my sister!
I’ve had a few close calls, so to speak…
Heather,
Bravo! Painted a great picture and allowed me to wonder how many missed opportunities I’ve had with errant calls. I suppose sometimes the Universe is speaking directly to us.
Regards,
Bob
I like your photos! I admire your being so nice for valuing simple things in life. People who are stranger yet you still value their existence.
LOLLLLLL
Well better yer Niece Heather than yer Mother-in-Law!!
;))
too Funny*
Thanks Bob,
I kind of enjoy life’s little “surprises”; most of them anyway!
BTW, nothing “average” about “Average Golfer”. Nice site!
“Land Projects UK”,
-Just trying to make the world a nicer place for me to live in; ha!
I figure every friend was once a stranger…
Excellent perspective BillyWarhol!
Heather,
Has he called back?
You know, this would make a fun romance novel premise.
I saw your cool website. What a creative person you are.
I have acted in community theatre. It was fun.
Hugs, JJ
Thanks very much for the kind words. Your’s is a site I’ll revisit.
JJ,
Hmmmm… You’re right; that could be a very sweet romance.
Ha! I’ve sat here for TEN MINUTES(!) following all sorts of paths from that idea. The romantic heart rules, huh?
Still thinking… (And “thanks” for the kind comments…)
Thanks Bob! Same here…
I revisited the driving range this fall and am ready to pull out the clubs again for real this year.
I fell in love with the photos. The article is amazing too.
This is one of the stories I’ve read where I ended up with a sigh because the deepest core of my soul was touched.
Nice Heather…:)
Nina,
Thank you! Imagination and memory can be such gifts to us. When I head out with my running shoes, the mental journey is often more interesting than the physical one! But I’d quickly run out of fascinations to ponder were it not for the glimpses of “heart” others have shared…