A chance encounter...

We never know when a unexpected chance encounter will unfold into an enduring friendship.  A cherished friendship.  And anyone reading this blog knows of all the many treasured friendships I have had since I was very young.  Often when needed the most.

The year 2003 became a very tough year, for in quick succession there was a major ice storm of historic proportions causing many of us to be without power for weeks, then the love of my life, Aiden died in a tragic drowning accident which devastated me beyond belief, followed by my dear Dr. Kopits, renown Orthopaedic Surgeon for Little People and a friend who lost his battle with a brain tumor.  Fred Rogers, also a friend passed away soon after discovering he had stomach cancer.  A painful problem with my left foot turned out to be a malignant tumor involving three surgeries and treatment.  Then in the midst of all that my eight year old cat Brice had to be put to sleep.  Thankfully though, Patches and Sierra remained.  Still, I was reeling and very painfully limping too.   

Prior to that year I had been asked to write an inspiring piece for the 15th Anniversary of The Ride Patches and I had made which touched and inspired thousands of people, even fifteen years after The Ride.  It meant so much for me to learn what a impact the story of Patches and I were still having on others.  

One of those lives was SO inspired after reading my 15th Anniversary piece online that a friend of hers who knew me had shared with her, she felt she just HAD to get in touch with me.  And she did.  She told me she had never reached out to anyone in such a way before.  Especially a stranger.

Shelby and her husband Bode had recently retired after very successful art careers each had as both sculptors and painters lasting for decades.  That I too, being a artist was amazing to them.  They spent their entire lives on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, a long distance from Maryland and then later the Bluegrass of Kentucky.  Yet when a friendship is meant to be miles do not matter.

We first began sharing EMails.  Then phone calls.  Soon they began flying me out for 4-6 week visits each year.  After Skype came along we began doing that.  Though many years older than me, Shelby and I discovered we had one of those friendships where it felt as if we had known one another for years.  They introduced me to their friends and we all created art, went to the beaches, laughed a lot, shared a lot.

Shelby's presence in my life helped me begin to process my losses.  A few years later, I helped do the same for her when Bode suddenly died after sixty-three years of marriage.  She is ninety now, and to this day we still talk often and are there for each other.

We just never know how a friend will enter our life and become a bright shining treasure.  

And friends still are entering my life and becoming a bright shining treasure I hold dearly...🐎😃🐎💫