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| Florida Mall |
8:30 AM wake up to the brightly shining sun streaming through my east facing window. Nice! Poodle still out like a light.
Quiet time, breakfast, dressing for the day....poodle still out. Addicted that I am, I of course headed to the computer, to check on the weather, the world at large perhaps, and of course email. That personal connection to those in my life....very important.
Gray screen. What? On an Apple product. Re-boot it, Roger would say. I did....gray screen, no log in area, black screen....OUT. I already knew the next course of action, for I had many items on my agenda today, most of which involved technology. Apple.com I was quite disappointed that no Genius was available at Millennia until Wednesday afternoon, but oh yes, Florida Mall was available...my least favorite mall of the planet. But, God was directing my day, so Florida Mall it would be.
The morning sun was nice as I walked the sleepy poodle. He is an interesting pup. Being blind, he has no idea if it is day or night, yet he is a pleasant animal. His memory always astounds me though, because he seems to know when we reach the driveway and sits down so he does not have to turn back in. At least he is small and I can pick him up when I have things to do!
Off to the Turnpike....shortest/most direct route to the mall. I was not interested in traffic and lights on this fine morning. Yea for Google - "Florida Mall Store Locations" Siri was unable to locate it, but my magic fingers did! I even found a backup plan since Apple is so closely located near Macy's. Outside of a dead hard-drive, maybe I would face up to economic therapy!
But once inside the store, those wondrous young men in blue found that said phone did not tell the Apple store that I was coming and someone else was in my spot. OH NO! Re-adjust to 4:15. UGH!
Perhaps I looked so sad, or maybe even desperate, or maybe someone had insight that this little old lady needed something wonderful to happen at the Apple store, but whatever the reason, one of the nice young men in blue told me to go to a certain table and they would run a diagnostic so I would not have to wait at 4:15. WONDERFUL!
And quite promptly, because Apple is kind of that way, and is why I am willing to overspend with them.....they moved me to the really important table where they plug the Mac Pro in and find out all kinds of stuff like....'it's not working.' My first young man, like me, planned and prepared for 'worst case scenario'......after all what could be worse than a crashed hard drive? Tears drifted down of course, because everything I was working on was on that hard drive, which naturally I had not backed up. I had been rather distracted. And now we add regret to the emotional package. Ah.....this day.
While waiting, I decided to check up on the email...yea for the phone, never far from communication!
Lovely and heartwarming messages from friends. That prayer means so much! And then Karin's blog. (What Grief Feels Like) ..... great writing, heart jerking, tears. Silent though they might be, tears. I found myself wondering what this day was going to bring, and then I felt a presence and a sense that things would be ok.
As I looked up, I recognized that familiar NASA/KSC Fire Rescue patch, and a face that had only become known to me within the last month. And such a warm smile! Turns out that he had not planned to be at Florida Mall either, but his path put him right there. If I ever start to think that God is not moving in so many ways....well, that is exactly why I write this stuff....so I will always remember. This young man named Paul, just turned my day around. Yes, we talked about Roger and about all kinds of other stuff during that wait. I was elated when my hard drive test "Passed" and I have a feeling his visit would have been much shorter had he not stopped to talk to me, for his genius appointment was easier than mine. But....for that hour or so in time....well, time sort of stood still and it was positive, and even the sadness of always missing Roger was overcome by the joy of talking with someone who knew him, even if only briefly.
And we laughed about Roger's (non) techy vocab....but all in all, he would always just tell me to go buy something knew if it would not re-boot. Gotta love that kind of techy, right?! And I learned a bit about the folks at KSC and how they are doing and how life really does have to go on, even if it is not the same. Imagine a young person having to tell me that!
I always have loved young people! People my age can stay stuck in a rut....even when talking about Common Core...."well, it was hard to move past the abacus, wasn't it now?".......oh boy, did that put things into perspective. (By the way, I never learned how to use an abacus) Yes, my day was made brighter after that chance encounter.
The computer...oh, it was software and Apple did not even charge me. And I did not have to return at 4:15 which left me freed up to go to the Polls this afternoon and get petitions signed for Roger's favorite candidate. (We all know who that is!) And Paul stayed until everything was OK.
Actually....that is exactly what Roger would have done. And he would have believed that all would work out, because getting to the Polls was more important than technology.
But more than anything....Roger's Lesson.....it would have been that I can live in a world of technology, and I can love it and embrace it, but if I miss out on talking to real live people, who actually have very interesting stories, then you have missed out on the best of life.
Thank you Lord, for placing Paul at such a time and such a place, and that he actually recognized someone that he had only met once or twice, and that he took the first step. As I come out of this deep sadness, I must do this. I must be the one to take that first step, because it really and truly does make all the difference. Roger showed me that all the time.
God planned encounters.
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