The Reunion

On Tuesday, for a variety of reasons, I found myself driving slowly down the small street behind a Whole Foods in a community about 10 miles away from home. As I pulled around toward the parking lot, I stopped for a pedestrian crossing in front of me (um... it's possible I almost ran into her, but that's not relevant for these purposes). She looked like a typical suburban soccer mom: black leggings, a black jacket and toting the requisite cloth bags that would hold whatever she purchased.

But she looked familiar, which I thought was odd. Not only do I not know that many people in this town, but especially on this day (Rosh HaShanah) I definitely didn't expect to see someone I knew in the store parking lot. So I looked again.

The person I thought she resembled was someone I'd lost touch with 20+ years ago. I don't often see people who just look familiar - either I know who they are or I don't.  And even if a total stranger did look familiar, I would never approach them and say (the equivalent of), "Do I know you?"  But in this case, I figured if I was wrong, I could drive away and never return.

So I rolled down my window and yelled, "Sandra?" She paused and looked around. And kept walking. And so possibly acting as a complete idiot, I tried again. "Sandra?"

And it was!

Other than now being married with two kids and living in the suburbs, she is EXACTLY the same.  Always polite, she said I was exactly the same, too.

I'd searched for her on line a few times a year, but never found her. Clearly I was not looking in the right places, and the parking lot at a suburban Whole Foods never would have made my list.

Lesson learned. Stop Googling and start looking at the grocery store.