in doing my recent throwing out crap “spring cleaning” i found two postcards with artwork on them. i remembered back to the night that i met the artist. and remembered being in the presence of a beautiful soul whom i connected with immediately. not in a sexual way, but in an almost surreal spiritual way.
after finding the art work, i did a quick google search and found him, and his gallery. i was fairly certain he would remember me even though our time together was brief and about 10 years ago. (i’m the person that will run up to you and say HI! do you remember ME? and you’ll be all like, “um no”.)
i have little or no shame and try operate very much like each day could be my last. connecting with other humans is just what i do. in person, and on the internets*. (altho, it must be noted that i am somewhat of a weird contradiction, i like connecting with people yet i’m highly suspicious of them.
so i sent him an email with “red lobster, charlotte nc” in the subject line. he responded and remembered.
in fact, he remembered that we’d gone to an art gallery/coffee shop that night (of which i’d forgotten). it was one of those rare moments in life in which serendipity comes in and dances on your head. when you meet a person by chance that seems to have been walking with you for a long time down human experience parkway.
even though your logical mind tells you there is no way in frack that you could feel that strongly about a person you never recall meeting.
i met him at the red lobster while on a date. i noticed him in the lobby as i headed to the bathroom. and again as i left the bathroom. something in me spoke to him. it was this weird predestined feeling that was the most natural thing in the world to be speaking with a stranger. he asked if i would be able to give him a ride.
i told him i was there on a date and had him come back to the table with me so we could ask the date (the date drove). the date agreed, so off we went.
i liken it to crossing paths with my alternate universe. the place where no harm can come to you or anyone else and every second feels as if you’ve been there before.
so off we all went from the red lobster to the coffee house/gallery owned by a friend of myself and the date. i cannot tell you what we talked about in the hours to come, but what resonates is a discussion about spirituality and addiction and life.
he reminds me in our email exchange that it was not a good time in his life and that by meeting us, it lifted his spirits a little. for me, meeting him was surreal, like he was an angel that descended on my date and i to prove that there really is more than the world we see with our eyes.
after we dropped him off, my date and i talked about how we’d just had like the best evening almost ever. this stranger was an incredible person and everything that we all three discussed just flowed and made sense. it was most definitely magical.
below are the postcards that he gave me all those years ago. visit his site and enjoy his work.
Posted by leah 
