Hobby Shop

We slid into opposite sides of our booth at KFC and eyed each other before we removed our food from our trays and pushed them to the side of the table.

As we shook hands across the table he spoke. "I'm Andrew Le Blanc. My mother was English but my father was from French stock. Thus, the odd pairing of the names."

"I'm Robin, and my mother was part English, part French. My father was Scotch-English. I've always liked my name even though kids used to cajole me that it was a boy's name. Probably from reading about Christopher Robin."

I don't recall how we discovered our first coincidences. There were so many. We found that we had lived in Northern Virginia nearly at the same time, had graduated from nearby high schools. Our fathers were both Colonels, his in the Air Force, mine in the Marines, both pilots whose careers had landed them (and our families) in NoVa after many moves.

"I worked in the hobby shop in Falls Church. That's all I did besides go to school." I detected something different in his voice. Perhaps a hint that he did not buy into the high school scene.

"That was the best hobby store around. My father and brothers bought all their model airplane kits there. I sometimes came along. I wonder if you might have been there?"

• • •

Have you ever had this many coincidences reveal themselves this fast when you connected with a stranger? Are these coincidences? Can you share your story?