Fate's Plan

She was born in the East End of London, post-World War II. The youngest of four children, she was part of a close-knit family and neighborhood. Her playground consisted of city streets and heaps of rubble created by the bombing raids and V-2 rocket attacks from the Nazis. It wasn’t an easy life for the children of that time, but like all kids, she and her friends adapted and flourished.

She was ten when adversity struck. Her father died in a work accident. Now it was necessary for her mother to work, which meant she had to share some of the household duties while attending school. It wasn’t easy, but she persevered, graduated England’s version of high school at fifteen and immediately went to work in an office.

Living in London during the sixties and seventies was an exciting time. The music scene was exploding with top bands and it wasn’t uncommon to see fledgling groups like the Rolling Stones or The Animals playing at a neighborhood pubs and dance halls. The night life was fun, but what really interested her was travel.

She would get together with friends and family for trips to Spain, Italy and the former Yugoslavia, and it was not uncommon for her and her friends to take a ferry to France for a day of shopping. There was one place she had very little interest in visiting: America. Finally, after staying on her side of the pond for years, she felt it was time to see what was so special about the U.S.

As fate would have it, the original trip she had booked touring New England and the eastern part of Canada was canceled because of insufficient interest. The tour company offered a replacement trip starting in Philadelphia, looping through parts of the south and into Washington D.C. Since she hadn’t seen any of the country, one place was as good as another, so she accepted the offer. Fate had only just begun to play its game.

He was the oldest of two boys born into a lower middle-class family living in Massachusetts. At three, his parents moved from the Bay State to western New York, looking for a better way of life. It was a positive change for him, but a continuing financial struggle for his parents. The cottage they rented on a small dairy farm lacked many of the basics, including a hot water heater and indoor plumbing. What it had was a friendly farmer that let the young boy help care for the cows and chickens as well as tend to the crops.

The rustic living conditions were harder on his parents than him. There were no children living nearby, but he didn’t mind. He had the farm animals and a dog. This changed when his brother was born and the small cottage could not accommodate one more person, so they moved to a larger but equally remote house.

New York State was not the dream location his parents had hoped for. Money was always difficult to come by so, after seven years, they moved back to Massachusetts. It was a difficult transition from living in the country to learning how to survive in the projects, but he adapted. With both parents working full time, it was up to him to watch his brother and prepare the evening meals. These were life lessons that came in handy as time moved on.

High school, some college, the Air Force, marriage, and three kids followed in what felt like rapid succession. A career in sales ended during the recession of 1990 and so did a tumultuous marriage. He secured a job driving intercity busses, and that’s when fate’s next phase took hold.

Driving international tour groups was his favorite part of the job. His passengers would arrive in New York City, Boston, or Philadelphia, spend the night recouping from jet lag, and be on their way the following morning. They would stay with him and a tour guide who was usually multilingual, for ten to twelve days, taking in the sights before heading home. He enjoyed meeting people from other countries and learning about their cultures.

It all started when dispatch assigned a trip going north to him and one going south to a fellow driver. The other driver enjoyed working with the tour guide on the northern trip and asked if they could switch. He had no objections, so the trade was made. The southern trip started in Philadelphia. Fate’s plan was about to go into full swing.

It was a pleasant September day when he pulled up to the Philly airport to collect his passengers. They came out of the terminal in small groups, luggage in tow, and were greeted by the guide. A man and two women approached the coach together. He hoped the petite blond was single. They exchanged greetings, and he loaded their bags. She had him at hello, pronounced with her British accent. Later that day, as the passengers took their assigned seats, he realized that, yes; she was traveling by herself. The next day, while the group toured Luray Caverns; she stayed behind reading a book. He walked over to her and started a conversation. It’s a conversation that has lasted through good times and bad for the last twenty-seven years.

Yes, fate always finds a way!