This borders on a mushy love story, but it is more about synchronicity, that is, meaningful coincidences.

Four years ago I rented a kayak and floated with about 50 other people out to right in front of the San Diego July 4th fireworks at Sea World. I got wet and cold so I squeezed myself in beside a girlfriend and a super nice guy who both gave me more appropriate clothes to keep the hypothermia away. I looked like a drowned rat. Afterwards, this guy and I exchanged phone numbers. We never called each other, but I kept his number all these years.

I am playing my flute in the play "Oklahoma", the lead man, "Curly" had been sooo nice to me and kept telling me how great I sound. Finally, after about a month of rehersals, last week I asked who he is. He is the same person I met kayaking. I have lots of guts so I emailed him and gave him good humored grief for never calling me. He called once and we email back and forth. We can't even look at each other during rehersals now because we both have to really focus. He is a great actor and once he is in his role, I leave him alone. He is 'posed to be in love with "Laurey" *sign*. But our emails are getting more steamy. We're going out after the play is over.

The fantansy may be more than the reality, but it still was a really wierd coincidence and I haven't felt this way for a long time, so it is fun. Forget my boss, BTW, I want Curly.

I am believing more and more in synchronicity. That is, that what seems to be coincidence may have more significance and meaning. Have you ever experiences a odd twist of fate?

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Answers

Holy crap, that's an incredible coincidence! Cool story.

I believe in "synchronicity" and, despite being an otherwise rational person, I have certain notions of Fate and Destiny that are, at the very least, entertaining to me. :-) I can have fun attributing some small things in my life to fate (such as finding certain things at just the right moment, being in the right place at the right time, etc.) and with certain more significant events I get a bit more serious. I believe it was fate that I met the woman who became my wife, for instance, because that meeting and our subsequent relationship have led to other decisions that never would have happened, but that I believe were destined to happen for me. Sheesh, I hate to sound so "mystical" about it, but it's just something I believe.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Oh what a beautiful morning Oh what a beautiful day I got a wonderful feeling Everything's going my way

I saw that musical in summer stock last year. Good show. I never saw Aaron Copeland's "Rodeo". Maybe someday.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Yea, Joseph. For some reason the love songs keep going through my head :)

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2001

Oklahoma! really is a summer stock staple, isn't it? "Where the corn grows as high as an elephant's eye..."

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2001

We know we belong to the land........... And the land we belong to is grand........... Love it.

I liked "Far and Away" also. Tom Cruise/Nicole Kiddman. "Stay away from me Joseffff, or I'll stick you with my pitchfork."

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2001

I am going to try to answer this question straight.

I don't think this is an instance of the Jungian concept of synchronicity. This is a case of boy meets girl. Boy meets girl is as Freudian as you can get. IMHO, this is a coincidence and an opportunity. Good luck with the show, Vicki. I mean that in the best sense of the word.

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2001

Really, "boy meets mother" is probably closer to Freud. That, and "girl meets penis." I never really liked Jung, he's always talking in circles. (ba-da-boom. *groan* sorry about that.) :-)

-- Anonymous, April 01, 2001

I believe we are pretty much hard wired by age 5. We don't really remember what happened way back then, but something in us does. It's unique to the person. This is the "Freudian Thing" I am talking about. We just seem to like what we like. We are all different to a degree. Like a rock & roll piano player once said:

There ain't nothing in world like a big eyed girl Makes me act so funny.....Makes me spend my money Makes me feel real loose...like a long necked goose Oh Baby that's what I like.

I don't really believe that the "collective unconscious" cares about any of this, but I sure do. I don't think that love is a "supernatural thing". It's natural, and we like what we like. It's OK.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2001

OK, I've got one. Ane mine involves theater too. Last September, while driving myself home from a party early in the morning, I picked up a couple of guys walking along the road. (Don't worry, y'all, I was on the street where all the student housing is and they were obviously harmless students.) Chatted 'em up, took 'em home, blase blase. Six months later, I was cast in a play at the community theater, along with, guess who? One of the guys I picked up. Only I didn't realize it for a while and neither did he. Until one day I was blabbing about how I picked up those two guys last year as a "community service." In the meantime, I'd developed a blazing crush on him. The finale: we've been dating blissfully for almost two months now. And the play was a success! Vicki, I sooo know what you mean about keeping a romance cool in the theater. ; )

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

Joseph, isn't that "The Big Bopper?" (Not to get all Freudian or anything...) ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

You are right Paul. I think Jerry Lee covered it too. Good Song. I just wish this software would post the text the way I type it.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

Jerry Lee Lewis? Hm, didn't he do "Great Balls of Fire"? Damn, innuendo in every direction, what with the "Big Bopper" and whatnot. Freud would have a field day. :-)

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

Your right Paul, sexuality is a big part of the equation. But Freud believed that the concept of Libido was more than just sexuality. It goes much deeper to a basic human need and drive. Libido is closely related to ego. It's conscious and subjective.

I have had the experience of performing random acts of kindness. I have also had the experience of having random acts of kindness performed on me. Just because someone is kind to me don't mean I fall head over heels. It needs to be a she, and she needs to "wiggle when she walks" and "giggle when she talks".

I say it's Freudian, and I'm sticking to my guns. :)

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

Joseph, I wasn't contradicting or arguing with you. Since I know a thing or two about Freud and Jung, I thought I'd crack some "inside jokes" with you.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

I know Paul, and I do appreciate your humor. I am enjoying this topic. I just hope that it's not mortifying the hell out of Vicki. She might be feeling like a laboratoty rat at this point. Oklahoma is a great story.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001

Here you go-this is why I believe in fate:

When I was 7 or 8 years old, we lived in Memphis. Daddy worked for the railroad, and they wanted him to relocate to Omaha. At the time, my parents loved Memphis and Omaha sounded awful, so he declined and took a huge risk by getting fired for refusing to relocate and deciding to go to law school instead.

After law school we ended up moving to Texas. Parents split up. I moved to Georgia. Married a military man. Lived for a few years in Germany. After Germany, our next assignment was...Omaha.

In between Germany and Omaha, my exhusband went to technical school in Biloxi, Mississippi. They liked him there and pulled his assignment to Omaha. Called me and told me to come to Biloxi (I was staying in Atlanta) and find a house to rent. I went, looked at houses, started getting ready, then the assignment fell through. The Air Force put my exhusband back up for reassignment.

Once again, to Omaha.

Moved to Omaha (as destiny seemed to require). Met the man who became my best friend, and who I fell in love with after my marriage fell apart. He was from PA, but the Air Force sent him to Omaha.

I believe with all of my heart that I was in Omaha to meet him. I feel like I spent a large part of my life avoiding Omaha, and yet ended up there despite everything. Thank the gods.

But, at the same time that I was looking for a house in Biloxi, this man I was destined to fall in love with was there, too. So even if I had avoided Omaha and stayed in Biloxi instead, I would have found him there. I believe we were going to find each other somehow no matter what, because life was sure fighting to get us in the same city.

And that's how this girl from the south ended up in love with a man from Pennsylvania.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2001

I totally love stories like Robyn's. Anything about people "destined for each other." There was a decent movie in 1987 along these lines, "Made in Heaven," starring Timothy Hutton. And there was an episode of "Mad About You" in which the two main characters forget each other as they part to go about their daily lives one day, only to be reunited, as if by fate, at the end. That episode was the only good one I can remember from that show.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001

I remember that episode. It made me cry. You may now berate me.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001

Robyn, that's a really sweet story. I dig hearing stuff like that.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001

It damn near made me cry, too, Robyn. I wish I had it on videotape.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001