I am going to do "Memoir" quite a lot now in this Blog, re-visiting older posts and older "bread crumbs" along the pathways of my past. So here is a funny story about the "accidents" that end up changing our lives, and sometimes the lives of many others as well. Here's from a 2020 post:
"I was surprised when I found myself humming a song by Leo Kottke that I haven't thought about since the 70's, as my first husband took the album when we divorced in 1979! For that matter, I haven't thought about Paul in a number of decades. We parted young and amiably, and not too long after I was gone he met his life partner, they got married, and we long ago fell out of touch. But thinking of serendipity, and Leo Kottke's homage to Pamela Brown, there is a story worth telling.
Paul and his best friend Peter were from Canada, near Toronto, and after graduating, decided to take his Volkswagen bug and go to Mexico. They drove down the California coast and visited the famous political hotbed of Berkeley, where their car broke down.
Paul and his best friend Peter were from Canada, near Toronto, and after graduating, decided to take his Volkswagen bug and go to Mexico. They drove down the California coast and visited the famous political hotbed of Berkeley, where their car broke down.
I was living in a warehouse with a lot of artists in Berkeley then. In those days if you had a volkswagon it was politically correct to fix it yourself with do it yourself manuals for "The People's Car" . In Berkeley there was a garage where you could also rent space and tools to work. So Paul and Peter decided to hang out in Berkeley for a while while they fixed the Volkswagon.
Meanwhile, I and my artistic comrades were planning our Warehouse Halloween party. I had a date who was going to join me at the party, and on the other side of town, Paul met a woman who invited him to come with her to the same party. The party was a great success, but both of our prospective dates didn't show up, so Paul and I got together out of sympathy.
In the course of our time together in Berkeley, Paul's brother, David, came to visit and decided to remain in San Francisco, where he became a photographer. His younger sister, Pat, also came to visit, and became a nanny and ended up meeting a young man from Sri Lanka there. They married, and she moved to Sri Lanka with him, and they had three children. And Peter, Paul's travelling friend, met Belinda while in Berkeley - they married and had a son. Paul and I left Berkeley, and moved to Wisconsin, where Paul remained after we separated, met his future wife, and they are still together.
Meanwhile, I and my artistic comrades were planning our Warehouse Halloween party. I had a date who was going to join me at the party, and on the other side of town, Paul met a woman who invited him to come with her to the same party. The party was a great success, but both of our prospective dates didn't show up, so Paul and I got together out of sympathy.
In the course of our time together in Berkeley, Paul's brother, David, came to visit and decided to remain in San Francisco, where he became a photographer. His younger sister, Pat, also came to visit, and became a nanny and ended up meeting a young man from Sri Lanka there. They married, and she moved to Sri Lanka with him, and they had three children. And Peter, Paul's travelling friend, met Belinda while in Berkeley - they married and had a son. Paul and I left Berkeley, and moved to Wisconsin, where Paul remained after we separated, met his future wife, and they are still together.
So............Paul, Peter, David, and Pat never went back to Canada. Marriages happened, and children were born. New careers. All because a car happened to break down in Berkeley, and I and Paul got dumped by our dates for a Halloween party. Serendipity!
https://youtu.be/9cweBs-tdaA
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