Ben Oostdam story # 610

SERENDIPITOUS
KHALID HAMID

 In two earlier stories, I described two
- related - examples of "Serendipity":

Serendipity Part 1 - Clarence Tarzwell
Serendipity Part 2 - Dr. Khalid Hamid

Both involved Millersville University (MU),
The Marine Science Consortium (TMSC) and
the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR)

Both date back to the previous millennium, some 40 years ago.
As Hamid aptly commented, Millersville takes up a mere
three pages of his autobio of some 70 pages to-date.


Since our children went to school together -
and at some time lived in apartments of which
the other Dad was the Landlord,
Hamid and I kept in touch
with each otheroff and on.

Recently there were attempts to arrange that either
Hamid's daughter in Florida or the one in Oregon
would move back to Lancaster and might consider
moving into my garage apartment efficiency -
downstairs below the apartment where
my daughter Erika now lives
with her room-mate Mark.


So when Hamid called me earlier this week, I invited him
to visit and look at the situation first hand (eye).
At the last minute, I remembered that "our" bridge was
closed for repairs, so I had to give him detailed instructions
about the detour - tough on him since he was using his
cell-phone fromn Park City Shopping Center.

I went through the directions thrice (three times) (3x):

"Go to Funk's on South Duke Street, but turn right
just before you get there, onto Walnut Hill Road
which turns right near Sun Lane then continue past VFW
to a stopsign where you continue straight onto Rock
Hill Road which turns right and at the end of which you
cross the Iron Bridge and turn left at Rock Hill Tavern
onto Long Lane and next turn left at Slackwater Road
go past the Church and take the next driveway to
the right mailboxes marked 169 and 219 and bear right..."

[I forgot to mention: "You cannot miss it!"]





here is page three (3) already ....
when are you going to tell your story???

Sorry it is almost midnight
so you will have wait till tomorrow
remember Sheherezade's trick?
elf whatever, 1001 Knights

BLO fecit 20100716 - stories




yesterday I removed this story from the index -
but not from the Web yet, seeing how it is going on.
Perhaps too much personal info??
Here are some other photos I took of the temporary bypass:
(Mercia noticed yesterday on the way back
from our first swim together in Conestoga Pool
that the bridge deck is open now.
and I commented that people thought
I might have been the unknown old man
who drowned from the bridge a few days ago...



It was at the overgrown house at the junction of
Sun Hill Road and Walnut Hill Road (right bottom photograph)
that Hamid must have doubted my directions
(Walnut Hill makes a ninety degree left turn here
but retains its name on and on and on...)
Fortunately, he spotted a man trimming some bushes
so he stopped to ask how to get to Slackwater Road.
The man said: "You must be Hamid" and offered to
take him to our address so Hamid just followed him
dazedly wondering how the man came to know his name..
So it was I met the two cars with three people at
the mailbox at the foot of our driveway which I had
walked down to pick up our mail.
And it was only now that Hamid noticed my daughter Erika
sitting in the van which he had followed - next to the
man who happened to be her friend Mark with whom she
lives in our upstairs garage apartment...
Why exactly Mark was trimming bushes elsewhere is still
a bit of a riddle but he mentioned something about
the mother of his friend the other Mark living in
the afore-mentioned house with the overgrown driveway ...
(right bottom photograph)



VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS - D R I V E . . . S A F E L Y - or else...TANK


(above):
still on Walnut Hill Road

(right):
powerline connecting
Walnut Hill Road
and OPA's Pavilion
across Conestoga Creek

BLO fecit 20100718 - stories