The day that changed everything

 

"Lobster sub?" My housemate and I parked on a Boston side street lined with townhouses. One was for sale. After eating our subs, we bought it, a handyman's nightmare triggering wonderful years living in Boston. 

 Because of that house, I was able to buy the Riverway condo I adored which allowed me to buy my Nest in the South of France.

 

  "You can speak English," the woman said on the telephone. I was then living in Geneva, Switzerland.  Little did I know when I made the call, she would become a major part of my life by sharing success, silliness and sorrow for close to 30 years.

"I'm in Geneva, Do you want a cup of coffee," the LinkedIn message read. Those words on my computer screen changed my a life that was as close to perfect as possible to something even better. It was from my past. It changed his life too. He moved countries, married me, found his best career move ever, and developed a whole new way to play his beloved golf. He did not expect that with the offer of coffee. He never got the coffee, but a fondue instead.

We never know what little event, what words spoken will lead us into an entire list of events and circumstances that will long-range change our lives. It may takes us years to follow the trail.

Most days are ordinary filled with ordinary actions: buy a melon, do the laundry, play with the dog.

In the same tract, I think of walking into the Polaroid Credit Union before moving to Europe. I had a job interview thinking it was a labor organization. Fortunately, I never let on and that lead to the rest of my meaningful career. Our management team went on to start a credit union for Digital now a billion dollar financial institution.

After moving overseas, I was the international correspondent for Credit Union Times followed by my starting Credit Union News, an internet journal for Canadian credit union executives. Through this work, I met and interviewed a number of world leaders, something as a child in the small town of Reading, MA I never expected. I still am amazed.

Through the World Council of Credit Unions, I ended up fighting FATCA, suing the U.S. Government and appearing at a Congressional hearing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4N9aW5NdE4&t=130s  Scum bag and future White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, then a congressman, hugged me telling me I was his favorite Democrat. None of it did any good. The U.S. is still bullying banks all over the world.

Even more meaningful was during university, my friend Paul Harvey found me in the cubby where I was studying. It was in the music building and I loved hearing the students practicing. "Your father is at Administration," he said. I hadn't seen him for over five years and even before my parents divorced, he was a foggy figure in my life.

That started a relationship not just with him but with my aunts, uncles and cousins that enriched my adult life. My stepmom, an exceptional woman, a loving woman, was the reason he swallowed his fear of rejection and came to see me. She added so much to my life and I hope I did to hers.

On each and every of these life-changing minutes, it can take years to realize what a simple conversation, a lobster sub, not drinking coffee and more can have on our lives. The paths can be convoluted but they make up the journey of our lives.