NOT SO CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

A Two Minute Friend in Eureka called me Flutterby. I seem to have more than the average under ten minute chance encounters worth writing up. Remember my poem written after an 9 minute encounter on a tour bus? Or  Twinkie's Chapeau? Last Wednesday, I arrived nine minutes early to the library to return my books. An elderly woman asked how long we would have to wait. I looked at my watch and said, "Nine minutes. I wish there were an outside drop box." She replied,"Oh, I need to get another book." I said, "I don't need another book. A writer friend in Albuquerque sent one of her wonderful YA books." The woman practically gasped, "I've been thinking about an assisted living place in Albuquerque. I'm from Connecticut but have spent most of my life here in the boroughs. I might go to the Bronx. I can't decide. Do you know anything about Albuquerque?" I told her how much I liked it from when I visited Uncle Henry who lived in an efficiency a few blocks from the university. He had a friend named Georgia who drove a van full of senior citizens to see the opera in Santa Fe. The woman then asked what YA books were and why I particularly liked them. I recounted how I had found Carolyn Meyer's Young Adult book Loving Will at the Eureka library. I mentioned how her story of Isabella had been a catalyst for me and the thing about YA's is their compactness, their research, their clarity. Our nine minutes were up and the library opened. Now this is a very small branch. I've never found a Carolyn Meyer book there but Wednesday, I felt a nudge. Sure enough. There was a paperback copy of  The True Adventures of Charley Darwin with my favorite cover art. I snatched it up and rushed over to where the woman was looking for a David Balducci. I said, "Here, have this. It's a sign. You are going to love Albuquerque! Say hello to Carolyn Meyer for me!" What a big smile! I said, "You see, your true adventure awaits!" Afterwards, I had to laugh. I never get anywhere early. I'm a right on time person. Oh, the Universe!