The connected paths of life

Growing up we use to go to Scaraborough beach for one or two weeks. We would pile at least 2 families into a single rental. We we spent all day at the beach and then eat dinner back at the house. After dinner I would go down to the basket ball courts down by Cumberland Farms RT 138 off Knowles Way. I would also usually stop in to to get an ice cream. I got to know the girl. Her dad was a pharmacy professor at URI. Years later I ended up at URI and her dad had become the Dean of the Pharmacy school. I always wondered if I would run into her on campus. I instead ran into my first "girl friend" from when we first moved to the united states.

I was six years old and when we were living in Cumberland. We were renting an apartment in in a 4 unit double decker. She was a our neighbor. I would hang out in a tree that was growing along a wood stockade fence line that separate our properties. I would climb up the tree and she would climb up the tree on the other side of the fence. We would hang out together in the tree. We started the hanging out in the tree trend with your significant other way before "Twilight" made it cool. (I threw the Twilight reference in so that my daughter will finally think I am cool. I know it is hopeless.. I digress...) Her name was Vanessa. So years later, to be exact 14 years later, I was on campus at URI walking into the Library. She was coming out the rotating door and I was about to go in. I looked up and I saw Vanessa. I said "hi Vanessa". She looked at me like "huh"? I told her I use to be her neighbor who use to hang out with her in trees, Carlos. She thought some more and then said "WOW"! She couldn't believe that I had remembered her face and even her name. While I never forget a face, I always forget names. So even I am still a bit surprised that I remembered her name.

So there is a little secret about my past life and story on how you never know where life will take you and who you will connect with once again.