Something good in everything I see...

Everyone has bad days, right? Days where shit just doesn't go as planned. I once hated days like that.

~

Tuesday was supposed to be the day I started my to-do list. Supposed to be, is the key phrase here. However, Tuesday started out hardly as what I had intended it to be, as I found myself Tuesday afternoon on the side of the interstate, car out of gas. I didn't even get mad. I wasn't sad. No one died, right? So what's the point in getting all worked up over it? If this had happened to me last year, I probably would've cried, standing outside the car, shaking a clenched fist in the air, damming the heavens for letting it happen. But today is a different time. I actually sat on the side of the busy highway for several minutes before attempting to call anyone for help. I try my best to take things in stride. Now, every time something bad happens, I force myself to look at it from a positive standpoint. Good or bad, I chalk it up to fate.

After taking a few minutes to finish up singing along with the radio, the last chorus of, "Best of My Love", by the Eagles, I realized I didn't have a gas can. I began making phone calls. Jana came to the rescue. She met me at a gas station a few miles from where the car was parked. Because of this tiny setback today, my entire planned out day was ruined. "Oh well", I reassured myself, though honestly, slightly annoyed because I didn't get anything done on my to-do list.

I'm so thankful Jana came to help. She asked me why I didn't tell her I was in town the past few days. I explained that I wasn't trying to avoid anyone, but I just didn't want to tell everyone I was going to be in Oklahoma, then get so busy I couldn't visit them. On the ride down the interstate, back to the car, I noticed a small envelope sitting in the console of her car. The sender's address read: Jonathan Hooks [insert private mailing address here]. Jonathan was a good friend of ours from the CU theatre department. He transferred to OU to pursue a B.A. in Theatre Arts, performance concentration. I hadn't seen him in a few years, so I asked Jana what the letter said. "Oh, go ahead and open it up and look at it. It's an invitation to his last show at OU; To Kill a Mockingbird. We're actually going tonite. You should come with us." "Okay", I replied; and that was that. I went back to my mother's house immediately after I got the gas and began packing. Less than an hour later I found myself freezing, but enjoying the performance inside of OU's studio theatre.

If I hadn't run out of gas today, I would've never seen Jana or been invited to attend the show and visit an old friend. During the intermission, as Jana, Whitney, and I chatted with Jonathan in the theater lobby, I noticed a large, older white man in a hunter green sweatshirt and jeans. Something about his face seemed vaugely familiar. His nose hid behind his beard that reminded me of colorless cotton candy. Then it dawned on me who the man was. It was Mike Buchwald, The costume designer I worked with on the TE ATA show. I told Jonathan that I knew Mike and I wanted to say hello, but I didn't know if he would recognize me. In usual Jonathan fashion, he ran back into the theater before I even finished my sentence, Jonathan was dragging him into the lobby.

"Hi", I extended my arm out to Mr.Buchwald. He looked at me like I was crazy and grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a bear hug. "Of course I remember you", he said. I thanked him with a smile. "You know, Judy Lee's back in Oklahoma. She's re-written the entire script for TE ATA. The Chickasaws are wanting to take the show to D.C. You should email her", he added. "Absolutely", I replied. Suddenly, in the midst of catch up bliss, I heard a shout from inside the theater. "Gotta go Liz, director's calling! It was good to catch up with you and don't forget to email Judy!" Then, just as fast as he came back into my life, he was gone again.

I stood in the lobby for a moment, quietly, remembering how much fun it was working on TE ATA. Especially because I worked so closely with the playwright, Judy Lee. She was a major stepping stone in my pursuit of happiness, and I almost forgot that.

So today,what I thought was a waste of a day turned out to be something better than what I had planned before I was stranded on the side of the road. I got to catch up with two amazing friends, made a new friend, and got back in touch with an extremely valuable network.

Thank God for running out of gas.