Waze had me going all sorts of twists and turns through back roads. I waited for a light to turn green, listening to my audiobook, trying to figure out when I'd be able to enjoy the freedom of the highway. As I headed down a stretch of back road, my phone interrupted the Beartown narrator.
I hit the accept call. No way! I said. Jesse White?
He laughed on the other end of the phone. You drive a burgundy car, right? He went on to describe my car and the college stickers on it. I was just next to you at the light.
For the next ten miles of East Granby, Suffield, and Agawam, Jesse kept me company, filling me in on his three daughters (HOW is is oldest already in seventh-grade), as well as his life as an administrator. He loves the work with students, the politics? Not so much. No surprise there.
Before we hung up, we agreed to reach out to our other colleague, Andy, from our school leadership program. For two years, Andy and Jesse were my critique partners, collaborative team, and cheerleaders as we sat in lectures together. It's hard to believe that was already seven years ago.
I have a lot of trust in Waze to steer me clear of traffic. I'm not sure Waze gets the credit for steering me next to a friend, but I'm grateful!
Happy Slicing,
What a happy coincidence. Starting and ending with Waze, made for a nice structure and I loved this line: "For the next ten miles of East Granby, Suffield, and Agawam, Jesse kept me company." I'm curious about your choice to use italics instead of quotation marks.
ReplyDeleteSo lovely! I'm glad you got to catch up with a friend. Love you writing!
ReplyDeleteI'm writing this as I'm heading off to yet another graduate class in school leadership! Like you said, it's amazing how strong the bonds are with the other people in my program. I hope we form a connection like you did!
ReplyDeleteBeartown is great- sometimes I find myself so confused while listening to an audiobook and then getting interrupted by the "real world" Good for you for taking those ear buds out to have a great conversation.
I love your ending - punchy, funny and made me think a bit. It slowed me down - still trying to figure out why. Maybe I don't need to know - simply the ending worked for me. Time does fly and there is never enough of it to catch up and stay in touch with everyone.
ReplyDeleteClare
I love running into old friends and catching up on their lives. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen often enough, and I'm good at getting so caught up in my own life, I don't reach out. Thank you for reminding me how important this is. Maybe it's time for a trip to the mall!
ReplyDeleteI love random coincidences like that- how lovely that he reached out as a result. Waze gets lots of blame at times, so why not some good credit too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Waze story!
ReplyDeleteThose moments are so fun - when life decides to present you with a person from your past for whatever reason! I always watch carefully after things like that happen and wonder to myself what that interaction was there to teach me or help me with. Usually I can find an answer, even if it is just for a Slice!:)
ReplyDeleteThats so cool!! Thanks for sharing such a nice moment of your day. I love how you incoorperated Waze!
ReplyDeleteI love Waze! It is a great help on long and short trips. The fact that you caught up with a friend is a great bonus! Too bad there isn't a button on there for "spotted a friend."
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