What are the odds?

Shout out to the team at Two Writing Teachers for hosting the 11th annual
Slice of Life Story Challenge. Magic happens when teachers who teach writing,
write themselves. Joins us. Link up every day in March or on Tuesdays throughout the year.

I scooted into my theatre seat. We were somewhere in the middle in a row towards the back of the smaller theatre at Orlando Shakes.  My son and I were seeing Native Gardens with my sister-in-law last December. Our seats were not in a row. There was someone between us.

She arrived soon after we did. Once she sat down my sister-in-law leaned forward to see if she could negotiate a seat switch.

"Hi, excuse me, would you mind switching seats with my nephew? He and my sister are visiting and..." she said something like that.

The woman replied with a wonder, "Oh, where are you visiting from?"

Kathie, my sister-in-law answered for me, "They are here from Singapore!" I'm more than eighteen months into living in South East Asia and it still surprises me when I hear it out loud.

"Really?" the woman replied. "I used to live in Singapore."

"You did?" I asked. "What did you do there?"

"I taught school," she replied.

"I teach English. Where did you teach? " I replied sending heading nodding affirmations.

"Singapore American School,"  she answered.

"You're kidding!--" at this point, I turned to my sister-in-law repeating what Deborah said and adding, "Can you believe it? She taught at SAS?!"

We chatted and shared names of people with whom she worked and with whom I work. We talked about the school's traditions and reach.

"Singapore American School is everywhere," she said.

It wasn't a year later when we felt the truth of her words when we were on a flight in the U.S., but that is another story.

Deborah's birthday is this week. Facebook alerted me. I took a bit of delight in that she, like me, is a March baby.

I went to leave her a happy birthday message on her Facebook page and though, it's been more than fifteen years since Deborah lived and worked here, today I realised there's still a person currently working at SAS that we have in common. 

I sent a friend request.

We'll see what stories connect us.