Gran Torino Opportunity

I just love the little surprises in life! Sometimes a simple move out of a rut or routine is orchestrated to bring around an answer that you've been seeking or have been praying for.

A couple of streets down from where I live, there's an elderly man who I call Gran Torino. Maybe most of you have seen this movie with Clint Eastwood. The reason why I call him by this name (in my head and to my family) is because he looks, dresses, and acts just like Clint's character in the movie. And it just so happens that he lives next door to an Asian family (I think they're Cambodian) who really don't speak any English, but are as sweet as can be with their smiles and nods of their heads. The family consists of a grandma, grandpa, and little granddaughter who can't be more than 2 or 3 years old. Gran Torino usually stands outside smoking his cigarette and looking over at the Asian family's house and pretty yard with a frown on his face. I've tried to engage him in greetings before, but he just glares at me. I tell him "good morning" or "hello" anyway knowing full well he'll never return in kind...just because I'm a rebel. Ha ha! I do, however, make sure that my puppy Eva minds her manners and does not even put a paw on his driveway. She doesn't like Gran Torino anyway. She usually nearly pulls me into the street trying to get around him. LOL!

Well, in the last 4 months or so, I haven't seen him at all no matter what time of day I take Eva for her walks. As each day had gone by, I found that I was really getting concerned for him. It didn't matter if he was one of the grumpiest people I've ever come across. I never wish harm to anyone, and I worried that maybe he had passed away as he looks to be in his 70s or 80s. I even mentioned it to my husband a few times recently that I wondered what happened to him. Every day I would look toward his house and hope to see him and his glaring frown. Nothing.

Today when I picked up my son from school, he switched the car's Sirius radio from my 50s on 5 (oldies) to Alternative Nation (an alternative rock station). His favorite song came on and he asked if I could take the long way home. There is no long way! We just live less than 2 minutes by car from the high school. I sighed, but agreed to veer from our regular route and wind around inside our neighborhood until his song was over. I drove a way I never go by car and wound up on the elderly man's street. There outside was Gran Torino! He looked thinner than usual and frail, but he still had his cigarette in hand and a scowl on his face. He was inspecting something in his yard. I told my son, "There he is! There's Gran Torino!"

My son laughed and said, "Oh my gawd! He really does look like the guy from the movie!"

I smiled and then sent up a silent thanks that I now knew this man was still alive. I don't believe in coincidence. I believe in synchronicity and alignment. Had it not been for my son's favorite song coming on at that moment that he changed the stations, we would have gone home my regular way. And had I not agreed to burn more gas just so he could hear a song that is probably on his iPod anyway, I would have missed today's opportunity for peace of mind. Gotta love how this universe of ours works!