Friday, March 28, 2008

Serendipity Anyone?

Last night Great Spirit doled out some of Its magic.

I attended a dinner date that almost didn’t happen due to scheduling. While waiting for our friends to arrive, who should walk in but my best friend. I barely (we’ll just go ahead and say never) get to see him anymore. For one thing, he lives too many miles away. He’s a professor at Knox College of which we’re both of alums. For another, when he’s not teaching or in the field, he’s a husband to a charming lady (a professor and performer of dance) and father of two lovely girls. The poor guy hardly has time to himself. Anyway, the restaurant happened to be one of three that he could have gone to at the suggestion of the guy with him. On the way to take him home, they picked up some take-out, a dinner break. My buddy had come to town to work on Vitalist Theatre’s latest production: the American Midwest Premiere of E. M. Forster’s saga A Passage to India, adapted by Martin Sherman. I’m also friends with the founders and director of Vitalist Theatre, too. They happen to be professors at Knox as well.

Needless to say after dinner I swung by the theatre and started painting. As if I would miss an opportunity to be with my best friend and help out my college mentor and his wife, the director! They’ve been especially generous with their time, resources and advice throughout the various stages of getting my novel Peter Pan’s NeverWorld off the ground. I just don’t see how there could be any place else I should have been last night. Hopefully I will get to help paint and do other various tasks for this show again tonight. I’ve helped them out every chance I could. This is their 10th Anniversary Season.

My buddy is the set designer and I’ve seen some impressive and unbelievable transformations of theatre space. I must say… he has outdone himself. It’s exceptional. And given the caliber of past Vitalist performances, I am quite looking forward to seeing this one unfold on this work of grandeur.

What are the chances of a dinner taking weeks to make happen being the same night, time and choice of take-out, etc.? I love it when serendipity conspires in your favor. It makes me feel like I’m in a novel.

No comments: