CXVIII. Signs and Messages. September 4,2023

>driving Lyft

>pick up this young Black dude with an eyepatch

>name’s Anthony

>it’s 8am on a Saturday

>I’ve got NPR playing in the background

>He asks about my hat and the pins thereon

>”It’s everywhere I’ve been in the world,” is what I say when people ask

>Anthony says “You ever been to Cali?”

>”Once,” I say, “but only to LA”

>”San Francisco is on my bucket list.” he says, “I’ve always wanted to see a 49ers game in their home stadium”

>”Yeah, that would be cool,” I say, “In Candlestick Park or whatever they call it now”

>”Levi’s Stadium” he says, “and the Giants play in Oracle Park”

>just then, the two guys on NPR start talking about renaming stadiums

>they namedrop both Levi’s Stadium and Oracle Park

>it is a wild coincidence

>I say “Hey man, listen to this here”

>the NPR guys continue discussing San Francisco stadiums

>Anthony does not react as I thought he would

>his eyes go wide

>He says shit like this ALWAYS happens to him

>the universe gives him signs and messages all the time

>this is just another one of them

>it proves he is on the right path and doing the right thing

>it proves that he WILL get to San Francisco one day

>he then waxes eloquent about angel numbers and Biblical prophecy

>I nod along, but eventually I stop listening

>I’m sure he tells this to everyone

>I doubt they believe him

>I don’t believe him

>except for this particular thing

>it happened

>I was there