Random Or On Purpose?

I let my wife sleep in this morning. There was no need for her to drive me down to my truck when I could walk there in ten minutes. After a few cups of coffee, and some pictures in the garden, I departed on the short jaunt. I hadn’t finished the first block when a late model Toyota Camary pulled up to the curb where I was walking. Inside were two black males. In the passenger seat sat a young man wearing a baseball hat. The driver was older, perhaps his grandfather or a man who became a father later in life. The young man asked me a question, but I couldn’t hear him, so I walked up to the window. I could now see the young man was wearing a baseball uniform. 

“Do you know where the baseball field is?”

“Yeah. Go up to the sign that says 419 and make a right. Go down the hill, and make a right where CVS is. Follow it straight to the end.”

The young man seemed frustrated, the older gentleman even more so. The kid asked me for details on exactly where to turn. I described it to him best I could while thinking, “He sounds like me asking for specifics when I’m trying to find a customer in my rig.” I liked his knack for details. Beyond his frustration, I could sense his desire of simply wanting to get to the field and get his game on. He reeked of dedication.

They thanked me, and left. I continued on my journey. I thought that maybe I should have asked if I could hop in, and I would show them exactly where the field was. I told myself the exercise was good for me. I should try to walk like this every day since I am on vacation and won’t get the normal physical workout that I do when on the job. 

I made a right turn and walked two more blocks before turning left again. After another half of a block, I saw the Camary coming in the opposite direction. I looked over as they passed and threw my hands in the air as if to ask, “What the heck?” The young man in the passenger seat did the same thing while shaking his head. I walked into the street and watched as the car made a u-turn and came back to me.

They pulled up, and the kid told me they turned at the intersection where I told them to, and it brought them here. He seemed even more frustrated, and the older gentleman in the driver’s seat was shifting around uncomfortably. Without giving it much thought, I sighed, walked to the back passenger-side door and put my hand on it. “Let me in. I need to go down there anyway to get my truck. I’ll show you exactly where you need to be.” The door lock popped open without hesitation, and I hopped inside.

We drove for a total of 40 seconds and after two right turns I told them that they could let me out. Along the way, I asked the young man an obvious question: “Are you playing today?”

“Yes.”

“At nine O’clock,” said the driver with panic in his voice. It was the first time he spoke. I looked at the clock on the dashboard and noticed it read 8:50am. “Plenty of time,” I thought to myself.

All they needed to do was drive to the end of the road, and they would arrive at the field. I noticed my truck sitting across the street and was relieved it was still there. The grandfather/dad pulled over, and I hopped out. I walked to the passenger-side window and looked at the young man. “Good-luck today. Go kick some ass.” He only half smiled and answered very firmly, “I will, Thank-you.” There was no question he was dedicated. As the car sped off, I heard the driver yell, “Thank-you!” He spoke twice, I couldn’t believe it. They were too far away to hear me, but I still whispered, “You’re quite welcome.”

As I walked to my truck, I thought about what just happened. It was a neat way to start the morning, helping out people like I did. Small as my gesture was, and as simple as the directions seemed to me, it made a world of difference to them. Finding me was like hitting the easy button for them. It made me feel good. It also made me wonder. That’s not unusual. Almost everything makes me wonder.

I have heard it said that everything happens for a reason. Some people believe that, others think certain events are simply random. It's all by chance. For me, it’s a mix of the two, depending on how I think about them. As it applies to my morning, I think I was there for a reason, and that was to help solve a problem for two people in need. I had no schedule this morning. I fooled around with my camera in the garden and drank too much coffee before finally deciding to grab a shower and leave. I left my home at a random moment that seemed to later have a reason attached to it.

I can take it further. What about last night, on my way home from western Pennsylvania? I couldn’t decide whether to take my truck back to the yard, or stop by the house and complete the journey in the morning. I flip-flopped on my decision at least ten times in the final hundred miles. In the end, I decided to come home because it was already late, I was hungry, and in dire need of seeing my family and my house. It’s fair to say, at least for me, that I was pushed into that decision so that I would be out walking in the morning. Otherwise, two people would have been lost and frustrated in the morning. I’m also aware that I did not just help two people. There was an entire baseball team and their families waiting on the young man lost in a car to show up. For all I know, he could have been the star they all were depending on. Sure, they likely could have found someone else to provide them directions. But they found me, and it made me feel good to help. I like feeling good.

Thanks are in order to the higher power that allowed me to have that experience this morning. It was a positive start to a week off of work, and I greatly appreciate that. It might be wrong of me to wish an out-of-town team a win, but I hope they did for the sake of that young man. I know he is dedicated to the sport, and I liked him for that.