My siblings and I have all commented on our dad’s ability to meet friends.  No matter where we go, people just gravitate to dad and become a friend.  For him, a stranger is just a friend he hasn’t met yet.  

Think I’m exaggerating?

Since the Fourth of July was awkwardly on a Wednesday this year and I had to work the next morning, dad and I opted to watch the city fireworks closer to home this year.  We chose not to drive to the firework show but stayed farther away.  We could see them, they weren’t big, but our site was within walking distance.

There we were at 9:40pm, sitting in the alley behind the houses across the street from us waiting for the show to begin at 10:00pm.  No one else was around because most of the town folk chose better viewing spots.  We were alone.

Or so we thought.  At 9:43, someone saunters down the dark alley and makes conversation with dad.  He ended up watching the fireworks with us.

I have been to social events, dances, mixers, that kind of thing designed to meet people and have not talked to a soul.  I have been in crowded rooms for an evening and not said one word out loud.  Dad sits in a dark alley with no one else around and meets a friend.

How is that even possible?