Have
you ever had one of those “I know that guy, but …” kind of moments? I just did yesterday, but let me back up for
a moment. After a really great day at
church Sunday – pretty full house with 64 people, then people around every
table at dinner on the grounds, and topped off with a haircut (Our resident hair stylist was there again, offering
her creative ministry haircuts. She does
the cut and whatever you would have paid her, you instead donate to the church. She did at least four yesterday, so it is
really catching on) – we hurried home, packed up some bags, and headed out
for Waco. Josh’s birthday was the 16th,
so this is our birthday trip to see him (And
anybody who believes that, let me talk to you about some prime real estate in Upper
Montovenia. Sure it’ll be nice to see Josh
and all, but he did just have a brand new baby girl about two months ago …).
The
trip was not too bad, if you don’t count the motorcycle wreck on I45 we had to
wait for (everybody looked to be OK),
or the construction on US290, which is rivaling I45 as the never-ending
construction zone for the state of Texas.
We made it to the half-way point with no permanent damage. Chris certainly earned her Buc-ees stop this
time. And before we even got out of the
car I saw a young man who looked just like a guy that Josh used to play soccer
with back in the day. Chris didn’t see
him, though, and he was already driving away, so no verification was
possible. Hmm.
We went
inside for the compulsory bathroom break, and as we trekked across the length
of the building, we passed another familiar face … now who was that guy? I know I knew him, but from where? He was accompanied by a lovely lady and three
or four young (maybe junior high age)
girls in what appeared to be volleyball uniforms. They were obviously headed to or coming from
an away game or tournament. We did that
enough in our day. None of them looked
familiar, but that guy … I knew him from somewhere. I asked Chris, but she had already done the
zone out of people thing and was focused on the task at hand. I told her I knew that guy, but …
We
went on the bathroom and grabbed something for a quick supper break as well. All the while I was struggling to place where
I had seen that guy. Had he visited
Seaside? That is always my go-to
explanation in cases like this. But
Seaside just didn’t seem like the right connection. As we approached the register I had just
about decided to let it go and not ponder identities any more for the day, I realized
that the family just in front of us had girls in volleyball uniforms. And a Mom.
And … that guy. Who was he? I pointed him out to Chris, hoping she could
provide some insight, but no. She had
nothing. And then they advanced to a
register and disappeared into the parking lot.
Shortly thereafter we made our purchase and headed for the car as
well. And that’s when it hit me. Like a ton of bricks fell on my head. I knew unequivocally who that guy was. No, it wasn’t from Seaside. No, it wasn’t from walking around
WalMart. But I had seen that more than just
a few times. In fact I saw him every
single time … that the Astros played on TV.
That guy was none other than former major leaguer and current Astros
announcer, Geoff Blum. Chris asked if I
wished I had gotten his autograph. I had
a ready reply for that one. “Oh, That Guy? Why would I want an announcer’s autograph?” She then asked, “Didn’t he used to play?” “Ah, yes,” was my answer, “but sadly, he wasn’t
really all that good.” Sorry,
Geoff. I really like you as an
announcer, though. Go Astros.
1
Thessalonians 5:1-2 says, “Now, brothers,
about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well
that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
Father,
thank you for serendipitous encounters.
They are fun. Amen.
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