Connections: What Are The Chances?

​     ​I live on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, but grew up in Southwestern Ontario. In the mid-1950s my parents bought an old summer cottage in Port Franks, on the banks of Mud Creek (now dubbed Golden Creek—by Apple Maps only) and renovated it in the 70s. A short walk away, the creek empties into Lake Huron, at the site of the beloved Port Franks Beach. My brother Jim and his wife Margaret now maintain the cottage, and I had the pleasure of spending the first two weeks of August with them in this idyllic setting of my youth, at the peak of the abundant summer growing season. Our days were filled with the timeless pleasures of walks to and on the beach, sunbathing, birdwatching, sunset watching, shopping for the freshest imaginable fruit and vegetables and culinary delights at the local fruit stands, orchard/cidery, farms and bakery, then preparing and enjoying bountiful al fresco meals served on the patio (in vintage Corning casseroles and Arcoroc glass pieces). With lots of delicious corn on the cob, tomatoes and peaches! Visits and bonfires with family and friends, old and new, were plentiful.
   This lovely change of scenery and reconnection with the land of my youth reminded me of the “meant to be” connections that exist among the people in our lives—links that inexplicably traverse space and time and bring us together in the present. To me, these reminders are evidence of an unseen greater plan that unfolds during our lives, and are sent to encourage and reassure us that presently, everything is as it should be. My favourite reminders of this truth come in the form of synchronicities, those “what are the chances of that?” occurrences in daily life. According to Deepak Chopra and the ancient Indian teachings from the Vedanta, synchronicities are messages from God. I am very open to that belief.
    My visit to the family cottage in Ontario and subsequent return to Cape Breton set the stage for several good ones.
     Synch No. 1: Readers of my book Meant To Be will know that when I lived in Miami in the mid-90s I had a talking female African Gray Parrot named Chaos. This bird was very comical and seemed to have mastery of the space-time continuum. Not long ago, she appeared in a happy lucid dream I had. It was set in the mid-50s, when my two brothers and I were kids, and she was friends with Frisky, the family cat at the time. Being part of my family, I believe she wanted to be remembered/included on my recent trip home and appeared in the name of the extraordinary bakery run by two ladies out of a home in Port Franks, a weekend business bearing the odd name of Khaos Bakery. Word to the wise—be there when they open at noon! 
​    Synch No. 2: On many evenings, Margaret aka Rita and I were piecing together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle called Eros & Psyche, previously left at the cottage by son Michael. To assist our sorting work, Margaret made creative use of a 60s-era flower-shaped Tupperware tray with eight handy divisions. The puzzle image depicts a fantasy scene inhabited by this pair of lovers from Greek mythology, united at last on the full moon and flying through the starry cosmos clothed in flowing, gauzy robes. He, being a handsome god, is endowed with fabulous rainbow-hued wings that would attract any girl, and she has flowing long hair strewn with flowers. The puzzle was very challenging and after many days of studying the poster, Margaret finally located all the pieces of Eros’ bare shin and foot that extend from beneath his robe. The next day, the three of us were sunning ourselves at the beach, and brother Jim was stretched out on a towel after a swim. With the details of this puzzle image still fresh in my mind, I could not help but notice the resemblance between Jim’s leg and foot and that of the flying god. Compare for yourself. You can’t make this stuff up!
     Synch No. 3: On the way to nearby Forest, Ontario there is an extraordinary field of sunflowers called Miracle Max’s Minions, in memory of a little boy with leukemia. Ava, the daughter of my friend Johannes from Cape Breton, is now living in Ontario and came to the cottage with her friend Cyan one weekend when the sunflowers were at their peak. Ava is a Leo and loves sunflowers, so I suggested a visit to the field. We took lots of fun photos among the huge blooms. To my amazement, there among the sunflowers was a tall, bearded gentleman wearing black leather attire and sunglasses who bore an uncanny resemblance to “Holmesy,” a biker friend from Nova Scotia who left us too soon. It was as if he had dropped in from above to say hello.
     Synch No. 4: After I returned to Cape Breton, one evening Johannes and I took the Argo down to the local beach at Little Judique Harbour to watch the sunset. There we encountered next-door-neighbour Anne, who was enjoying a bonfire and lobster meal with her son Alex and his family. Alex now lives in Sarnia, Ontario and was home for a visit. While I was still in Port Franks, I had posted a series of photos of the beach on Facebook, and Anne had shown them to Alex. Imagine my surprise when I learned that he recognized the exact spots, because his partner Lisa’s parents have a cottage in Port Franks! On the beach in Cape Breton, we ended up discussing “our other beach” in Ontario and all the delights of Port Franks and area, including the Khaos Bakery.  What are the chances of that?