(Maybe Not So) Strange Things

My crappy old car won't let me drive that fast, but as I was going downhill I wasn't sure I'd stayed within the speed limit when I saw the officer stopping the car in front of me. Most days I wouldn't mind getting pulled over by a handsome man in uniform, but if all they want is my money - well, I think I'll pass. But the policeman just smiled and waved me aside. So it's going to be one of those days, I thought.

One of those days that seem to be filled with funny incidents and even stranger coincidences, and it began before my "meeting" with the road patrol. Actually, I think it started to move already last night when I went down to the laundry room to pick up the linen for my son's bed from the dryer.

We have a system that should work, had people only used their heads once in a while. You put your laundry in the washing machine and place the hamper on top, so that the next user can empty the machine into the hamper and then put it away. And same routine for the tumble dryer. Simple, right? Both these machines are automatic, in that they stop when when they're finished. The problems are worst with the dryers, as the electronic sensors for determing the humidity aren't that reliable. A load of bedlinen usually gets twirled and tangled up, into a big lump. Which obviously is NOT dry in the middle.

This is where people differ. When I open up a dryer to find a bundle like that, I untwirl it and put it back in the dryer. That's nice isn't it? No, not nice, just the right and decent thing to do. But other people (not all of course), see the stop-light and just empty machine regardless. That happened late last night, and I had a funny feeling I knew who it was. And we're 150 families up there, could be anyone... My hunch was confirmed, when I looked at the bag marked with her housenumber!

But what does this (rather lengthy and tedious) anecdote have to do with coincidences? Well, this morning I was still thinking about it when I sat in my car. I haven't seen her for weeks now, and I wondered if that might be good excuse for knocking on her door? Complaining about my son's wet bedlinen? Just as I turned around the corner she came the other way towards me...

When I then got to the university I bumped into a lady I know from last spring and a course we attended together. Shouldn't say know exactly, 'cause then I hardly spoke a word with any of the people in the class, since we spent so much time in practise. But now we started to talk, and quickly found out that a coffee and a chat wuld be a good idea. We swapped phone numbers, and I'm sure we'll have some very interesting conversations here on campus.

While we chatted outside there came a man walking by, who immediately got my attention. It's so strange, but I know him without knowing him, if you know what I mean? I think we went to the same class a couple of years ago, but I have never spoken a single word with him; I don't know his name or anything. But everytime we meet he greets me like he knows me, and I can't help but wonder if he confuses me with someone else, or what? But still, it's like seeing an old friend in a strange way. And I don't see him that often, maybe it has happened 6-7 times. It really doesn't matter, but it's just a reminder that you're not totally alone and that someone recognizes you.

These small incidents might seem very trivial and insignificant to you, but I can't wait for the next funny episode...

PS. Wonder about the picture? It's what you get for Googling "handsome+man+uniform"... Talking about handsome men in uniforms, it reminds me of another encounter I had with the long arm of the law. The time when almost I paid my ticket with a smile. A sunny day in June (ten years ago) I was pulled over by this patrol for speeding. There they were, wearing uniforms and sunglasses, casually striding their motorbikes. You get the picture. As I said, it was almost worth the fine...