You never know...you know?

"If you do not expect the unexpected, 

you will not find it, for it is not to be 

reached by search or trail."

 - Heraclitus 

Greek Philosopher

Reed was running late. It was the strangest of events that we were meeting at all.

In October 2023, I worked as technical support for a local play. We were looking for an LCD projector for some of the rehearsal work. After failing to find a reasonable one to rent, I called Reed, a computer and presentation whiz at the community college where I teach. As it turned out, he had a projector and would let me borrow it.

 

Even though we only needed it for a few rehearsals, Reed said to keep it until he returned from a trip in early November. Between the latter part of November and last week, I emailed and texted him frequently to see if I might get the projector back to him.

 

I had heard nothing from him until this past Friday morning (March 8th, for reference), when I got a text asking whether I could get the projector to him at 12:30 pm at our most western campus. West Campus is a forty-five-minute drive from my home. That was not a problem, but I had a 1 p.m. luncheon, making the timing unworkable.

 

I suggested an alternative to meet at a Starbucks on his route to school. It was thirty minutes from home, and catching him well before 12:30 would be early enough for me to do the handoff and return in time for lunch.

 

The above is foreplay…

 

I got to Starbucks early to eliminate any delay on his part. It was not a problem for me. I’m in a play in late April and had my script with me. It was an excellent time to practice lines.

 

I noticed a man sitting on the ground, leaning against the coffee shop wall near the entrance. I was thirty feet away on the opposite front side of the shop. He looked homeless and had a couple of backpacks on the ground beside him. 

 

Winter in Tucson is a haven for the unhoused. There are shelters to help and a temperate enough climate to survive even on the streets. The odd thing about this fellow was the two drinks sitting on the ground beside him. One was a plastic cup of water, and the other a ten-dollar café Latte. The other odd thing was that while he could have been sitting in the shade, he was sitting in the sun and was as red as a beet.

 

I was practicing lines when I heard, “Excuse me, do you have a dollar you could lend me?”

 

I have a policy about this.

 

“I won’t give you any money,” I replied. "But if you are hungry, I am happy to buy you something to eat."

 

“No, that’s okay. Thanks.” He turned and returned to his spot.

 

Reed was late, and I was curious, so I wandered over.

 

“What’s your name?” I asked.

 

“John.”

 

“I’m Ted.”

 

I asked where he was from. He said New Jersey but was living with his mother in Tucson. He had worked for several years after high school in a meat packaging plant but wanted to do something more meaningful.

 

“I decided I wanted to teach English as a second language,” he said.

 

This was my first surprise.

 

“Oh,” I replied. “Where?” Unsure what to expect.

 

“Russia. Most of my time in Moscow.”

 

My first thought…Sure you were. 

 

I’ve heard a few creative stories in my day, but initially, this one, coming from this fellow, was a little beyond the pale until I dug in a little deeper.

“Tell me more,” I said.

 

He described in detail the vetting process to get there, what it was like to live in the city, and how he had traveled to Latvia, Estonia, and Scandinavia during the five years he taught. Once he got going, he was articulate and had that look one gets when they turn on the playback of the recorders of their minds. You know, kind of like I wasn’t there.

 

He said he enjoyed the Russian people but had gotten ill in the last year. The healthcare system was free, but he felt he was somewhat antiquated (compared to the U.S.), and he came home because he wasn’t improving. After returning to the U.S., he got COVID, became a ‘long hauler,’ and was left with bilateral neuropathy in his feet (numbness and tingling). It hadn’t gotten notably better since the COVID. He could walk some but needed to rest. That's why he was sitting at the moment. He said he used to run, but that was no longer an option.

 

It was about that time Reed pulled into the parking lot, and we made the projector exchange. He was gone in a flash, and I had to leave to make my lunch date.

 

I told John he needed a hat. He said he lost his. I gave him mine.  Then I asked if he had access to a computer, and he said his mother had one. I gave him my email address and said I would enjoy hearing from him, being fairly certain I would not. After all, I was just some stranger who stepped into his space for a few moments.

 

On the way home, I wish I had had more time and the presence of mind to record our conversation on my phone. It made me think of all the brief, interesting, and unexpected conversations I have had with hundreds of strangers over the years. Many have been unexpected and added texture to my journey...but John? As brief as our chat was he was near the top of my 'interesting and unexpected list.'

 

Who knows what cometh…these small encounters delight me. In the future, I will have my phone at the ready…you know, just in case.

- ted