chance encounter in Florida

Is there any better conversation starter than a cute ,fluffy ,tail wagging dog?It seems almost inhuman not to bend down and pet a puppy and thereby meet their owner.Strangers no more.

The second best is a team visor hat .I have two and wore them while we were in Florida.The Emory one was a gift from my second son who coached there.On the second day in Florida, a lady stopped me to tell me that she had been accepted there to the medical school but didn't want to go that far North.Emory is in Atlanta so I had to chuckle.Nice to meet you,friend.

My Auburn hat, courtesy of my youngest son, gets the most notice."War eagle,"shouts the family on the  beach and we all laugh.

On one of the last days of our vacation, my husband and I went to the old Mission in St.Augustine as we always do.It's our pilgrimage.We soaked up the shade and the peaceful sound of the water slapping on the rocks at the water's edge.Then, a brief visit to the small,old ivy covered chapel of the burning candles and blue stained glass windows.After that ,we sat by a small fountain and watched the water tumble from the pipe.A sweet sound.

As we sat, a man and two children ambled up and the girl about 5 and her brother ,3 ,put their hands in the small fountain searching for the elusive black tadpoles.Their young,dark haired ,slim father turned to us and ,noticing my hat ,started to talk football.We agreed on the disgrace of the New Orleans Saints' "hit  squads" and how Auburn would do the coming year without Cam Newton.There was a sadness about him as we talked and then he said,"I have the kids for today, the wife and I are having trouble.".I told him what I believe to be true: that God can heal anything.Also, that I would pray for that healing.He seemed surprised and then smiled a bit.

The real smile came as he turned towards the fountain and the laughing children."There is no money that can buy this,"he said.I took their picture;it seemed the right thing to do.He didn't notice,all attention focused on his family.We chatted awhile and then we left him at the fountain after talking about where he worked.

On Sunday, after Mass in the Cathedral, and a wonderful breakfast on an outside patio, we took the camera to Walgreens and had pictures made of the girl and boy.The next day, we began our sad journey home but stopped first at Joe's food trailer outside a bar on San Marco Boulevard.He hadn't opened his outdoor mobile restaurant yet so we tucked the picture and a card in the closed door.The card said; "You are on my mind and I am holding you in prayer" and with surprising consistency ,I have.