I find life full of amusing little coincidences

[fastfredracing]

I stopped for gas at the American Natural on my way home last night . I went in the store, and paid cash for my fuel ( with my mask on ) and was heading out the front doors, back towards the pump .
I move like I am on a mission most times, head down, at a fast paced walk. Just then, the fast and furious came tearing into the parking lot . There were 3 hopped up VW's and the one in front had to correct a little to avoid hitting me, and I also had to take a quick step back.
At the end of a work day in the 90 deg heat, I look like I crawled out from under a bridge, or just got done dumpster diving . I was greasy, tattered, sweaty, and also driving my crappy little beater honda accord. What I am getting at , is I looked like a bum.
Anyhow, I was checking their cars out while I was pumping gas. The kid with this car, gave me a bit of stink eye. he was the one who almost hit me . I got a little bit of a cocky vibe, and it reminded me a tad of myself in my younger years .
I had a couple of amusing thoughts standing there oogling his car, filling my tank .
" cool car, I have always liked the look of BBS style wheels on a lowered dub. I wish I was young again . Looks like they are going to some kind of meet/cruise . That guy does not look like someone who wrenches , that vr6 will probably eat him out of house and home , I bet he has no idea who I am , probably thinks I am some scummy redneck not at all into euro cars "
Today, at about 2:30, I hear the distinct beep beep beep of a tow truck pulling in and when I walk out to see what the broken car gods were bringing me today, walla, I see this .
Same car I was staring at last night . They had it towed to the truck/car repair shop in front of me, and those guys are not really into german cars. If it is anything more than a brake job, or inspection, they usually just end up sending it back to me .
The kid called me later in the day , and I mentioned to him that was me last night, and that I was not staring him down or anything, I was just checking out their cars .
he apologized about 10 times, and I had to tell him " all good, you did not do anything wrong, I was admiring your rides . We had a good laugh in the end .
Life is funny like that sometimes
Weird stuff ever happen to you ?

[asphaltgambler]

…...kool stuff.

[unclebilly]

I like it!

[porsche tech]

What's wrong with it?

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I always get a feeling when those situations happen- like "Don't say anything, because I'm going to meet this person again."

not car related but in that coincidence theme-

Years ago, while skiing, I saw some dude on the slopes wearing the "redneck teeth" and being all loud and obnoxious. He was a definitely "presence." I had the feeling we'd meet again.

Got back to the lodge. Wanted to tell my wife about it (at the time- she was my girlfriend). Kept my mouth shut. My girlfriend was with her sister. No need to badmouth people while meeting my girlfriend's sister.

Guy with the teeth walked right up and sat down at the table.

Turns out he was my new brother in law! (turned out to be super cool dude)


yesterday- was pumping gas. Pump was dreadfully slow. 5 minutes for 1/2 tank. Across from me, two loud guys discussing covid and the chinese. "It's a weapon, one said" The other stated "Yeah, the chinese are building a military site on the dark side of the moon to stay at while the virus takes us out." Totally serious.

I couldn't take it anymore, between the gas and the conversation, I bolted. I bet I meet those guys again.I just know it!

[ckelly78z]

Very cool "W" motor Golf. I would drive it.

I'm usually the guy in the rusty pickup truck that knows far more than those kids will ever know....rather like you Fred.

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

What's wrong with it?

Its over heating, mostly just at red lights he said, so probably either an electric fan, relay, or fan controller. The truck shop tossed a thermostat in it , and cried uncle . I should be able to make short work out of it . hopefully

[Scott Douglas]

Living in the area you do Fred, you probably run into that a lot more than those of us that live in the MEGALOPOLIS known as LA.

[wswartzwel]

Coincidences...

Back in 1985 me and a couple college buds went to a club for drinks and such... while there I spotted the most beautiful girl I had ever seen... She looked a little like Pat Benetar. I told my buddies "I could fall in love with that girl." They told me I should go talk to her, or ask her to dance, but I was kinda shy. Finally they pressured me enough that I went over. She wasn't too thrilled about dancing with me but finally gave in and we danced. I left the place without getting her name.

About a month later The owner of the Motorcycle dealer I worked at part time and I went to go see some motocross races. On the way we stopped at a nice restaurant to get a couple drinks before the races. While at the bar I saw the girl... talked to her... she wouldn't give me her number but told me her name, and I could look it up in the phone book.
After a few dates, one involving bumping into a yamaha sales rep that knew me, and liked to buy me scotch.. We were at the bar waiting for our table He had a nasty habit of buying me drinks until I was drunk on my ass... she was my girlfriend now, and when our table was ready she and I were seated at a table next to Bob Hope and Sam Walton... Got Bobs autograph for my mom...I was really drunk. She took me home and I drunk puked my guts out in her bed.... Anyhow Glad i bumped into her the second time, been married to her for 35 years now.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

^^^ that's fate for you^^^

Only story I can think of is, when I was a young teenager in the mid-80's I used to watch inshore powerboats racing around Nassau harbor in the Bahamas.

Was more into cars than boats but living on a tiny island in the Caribbean didn't give me much scope for watching auto sport races. Watching this one boat race a year was my only motor sport fix. Remember thinking, I'd love to work on something that fast, how would that be!!!

8 yrs later, now living in the UK and driving down the motorway I spot an inshore powerboat being towed by a race truck. Got me thinking again, wouldn't it be great fun to work for a race boat team in my spare time, helping out on weekends.

Casually mentioned this to my dad who got in contact with one of his best friends as he lived in the same town as a F1 inshore power boat world champion. Introductions made, a few weeks later I'm in and travelling in a converted bus with the team down to Milan in Italy to help out at my first race.

Through a few coincidences I got my inshore powerboat to play with but it got better than that......

A couple of years later and 10 yrs since watching that Nassau race I was in charge technically for the whole grid of world championship F1 inshore powerboats and being flown out to places like St. Petersburg, Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, Corfu in Greece

Writing this has reminded me what the hell was I thinking of taking on so much responsibility for drivers lives in such a dangerous sport in only my mid-20's

[stealthn]

Good stuff guys, keep em comin

[tcar]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

.... walla, I see this .

You mean voila' ?

Nice story.

[BK911]

Cool story.
Not sure how I'd have handled it, but sounds like you did the right thing.

[Baz]

I get a kick out of these kids and their "hot rods".

Always give them their space.

Most days I have my work clothes on too, Fred.

I'm proud to be a workin' man!

I clean up pretty good when I need to - and that's what counts!

Great story as always sir....stay well!

[oldE]

One of mine:
16 years ago, while working as a Heritage Interpreter at the Tidal Power plant in Western Nova Scotia, I noted a woman looking at a picture of Cape Blomidon, which is at the other end of the Annapolis Valley. When I mentioned the location of the feature, she responded that she knew the view very well. Given her speech sounded like she was from the Eastern Seaboard of the USA, I asked if she had been a student of Acadia University, which among other things had a great view of Blomidon. She confirmed she had been. When I enquired of her years of attendance, she gave dates which co-incided with my attendance. I asked her what her name was at the time and, when she told me, recalled speaking with her on the lawn in front of one of the women's residences in the fall of 1972. I recounted asking her if she had any relations in a town near my home in Nova Scotia and she once again confirmed she had none there with that name.

Then it got interesting:
She said she did have roots in Nova Scotia, in a small village called Advocate. When I asked the family name and she provided it, I asked her if her great-grandfather had been S.... Canning. With some surprise, she confirmed he was. I advised her my grandfather W........ Canning was that man's brother. I had been chatting up my cousin all those years before.

Then she said she had lost almost all contact with that part of Nova Scotia. Family had either moved away or died out. In fact she only knew one person in that area now. When I asked where that person lived, she named the village where I grew up. When I asked who did she know there, she named my eldest sister. She had stayed with sister B.... on a singing tour some years before.

We do not have six degrees of separation in Nova Scotia.
Best
Les

[oldE]

Five years ago, while driving between holiday cottages in the south of France, I had to stop the car a few kilometers east of Auch for a stray dog on the road. With my animal loving wife, one does not simply ignore a lost or strayed creature. While she was trying to convince the little hound to come to her, a woman drove a car out of a lane to our right and got out to catch the dog. Looking up the slope from where she had come, I saw a beautiful little chateau on the hill. As the woman had control of the dog, my wife got back into our car and we continued a further hour and a half to our destination.
Some time later I was in conversation with my youngest sister about our travels and when I mentioned one of the towns we visited on our day of relocating between accommodations, she said her family had got together five years before for the wedding of her eldest son at a chateau just east of that town and she gave me the name of the place.
When I checked it out on the internet, I had the feeling it looked familiar. Going to Google street view, I realized that was where the dog, the only unleashed dog we had seen in two weeks in France, had run across the road in front of our car. My nephew and his wife got a great kick out of the fact we got to the location of their wedding five years late.

Best
Les

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by oldE

One of mine:
16 years ago, while working as a Heritage Interpreter at the Tidal Power plant in Western Nova Scotia, I noted a woman looking at a picture of Cape Blomidon, which is at the other end of the Annapolis Valley. When I mentioned the location of the feature, she responded that she knew the view very well. Given her speech sounded like she was from the Eastern Seaboard of the USA, I asked if she had been a student of Acadia University, which among other things had a great view of Blomidon. She confirmed she had been. When I enquired of her years of attendance, she gave dates which co-incided with my attendance. I asked her what her name was at the time and, when she told me, recalled speaking with her on the lawn in front of one of the women's residences in the fall of 1972. I recounted asking her if she had any relations in a town near my home in Nova Scotia and she once again confirmed she had none there with that name.

Then it got interesting:
She said she did have roots in Nova Scotia, in a small village called Advocate. When I asked the family name and she provided it, I asked her if her great-grandfather had been S.... Canning. With some surprise, she confirmed he was. I advised her my grandfather W........ Canning was that man's brother. I had been chatting up my cousin all those years before.

Then she said she had lost almost all contact with that part of Nova Scotia. Family had either moved away or died out. In fact she only knew one person in that area now. When I asked where that person lived, she named the village where I grew up. When I asked who did she know there, she named my eldest sister. She had stayed with sister B.... on a singing tour some years before.

We do not have six degrees of separation in Nova Scotia.
Best
Les

It sure is a good thing you weren't dating! BTDT.

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

It sure is a good thing you weren't dating! BTDT.

Almost sounds like Iceland.

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/iceland/articles/iceland-is-so-small-theres-an-app-that-keeps-icelanders-from-dating-their-relatives/

[GH85Carrera]

When we lived in Hawaii we had lots of relatives come visit and want us to play tour guide. My mom's sister and family came for a visit. So we take my aunt and uncle and one of their kids on a 4.8 mile neat hike, Aiea Loop Trail. It is a walk that ends back at the same parking lot we left from around a mountain. My uncle was a Methodist minister, and had a church in Medford, OK. Right in the middle of the hike, coming the other was was the carpenter that built their kitchen cabinets. In the middle of a hike in the woods in Hawaii they bump into a local resident of the same tiny city.

Back in the days before the China bug I used to eat out for lunch often. I kept bumping to a local resident, and finally at one restaurant that had no spare tables, I asked if I could sit with him. Then I asked him in a joking tone, is he stalking me or and I stalking you. He asked if I was well know at all. I admitted only the local Porsche community know me. Turns out he is a Radio DJ on a local morning show. He lives in the same area that I do, and had great tastes in restaurants. We are just "Howdy friends" and chat briefly when we bump into each other. And we see each other several time per year at random places.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Its over heating, mostly just at red lights he said, so probably either an electric fan, relay, or fan controller. The truck shop tossed a thermostat in it , and cried uncle . I should be able to make short work out of it . hopefully

Common for the fans to crap out on those mk4's.
First tdi (alh) I had a set go. I didn't even notice until the a.c. went warm at stop lights. Never overheated...