Chance Encounters of the Sandalmaker Kind!

Forty years ago I was lucky enough to take a fabulous trip to Europe. When we were in Greece, we went to the flea market and found an awesome sandal shop. At that shop, our group met a group of boys from Texas. After talking with them for awhile, we figured out that one of the boys had been in the Holy Ghost and stayed in a cabin two doors up from us - when we were eight or nine. We had played kick-the-can and many other games during the summer - they were friends of the Noel family and spent the entire summer there. Turns out I went to school in Albuquerque with his cousins, and his aunt and uncle were good friends of my parents.

Fast forward forty years. While researching for our trip, I found out the sandal shop is still in business, and although the sandal maker who made my shoes no longer works there, his son is still running it. I was determined to find the shop, so we went on a discovery trek . It wasn't too hard to find, and the first night, we looked at all the different pairs of sandals he has to offer. Since most merchants in Greece only accept cash, we had to go to the bank before we could buy, so we decided to come back the next night.

When we returned the following night, the store was filled with young women, sandals strewn all over the floor. I popped my head in and told the assistant that we would come back. About five seconds later, one of the girls opened the door, leaned out and said, "Ken?" Kenneth looked up .... "Feng?" Turns out they go to UCLA together, and the three other women are also in the UCLA program. It was great fun for all of us to try on sandals and catch up on what everyone was doing.

I have decided the sandal maker's shop is a magical place for chance encounters - at least for my family.