Dear Reader:

While cleaning out (yes, I am still at it!) my file cabinet filled with stacks of old worksheets I used when presenting social studies workshops (for so many years) I found a Chinese quote I had used in one workshop I did on patterns of the past and how to detect and connect them to the present.

It was a Chinese Proverb that read: “An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break. 

Yesterday I was lamenting the closing of a popular Greek restaurant that signaled yet another change in my life, while forgetting to focus on the forty-plus years of happiness it brought me. Continental Corner was a long-lasting gift that brought so many people together to share a moment breaking bread with each other. (There is no doubt in my mind that many destinies were connected by the invisible thread in this beloved restaurant.)

 The link of one invisible thread lead me to this book published in 2011 that tells the true remarkable story of author Laura Schroff, a busy sales executive, and an eleven-year-old boy, a panhandler, from New York City. Their relationship will last for over a 100 Mondays…the day they eat together each week. Maurice likes McDonalds but he also likes having food in a bag because, as he explains to Laura….

“If you make me lunch,” he said, “will you put it in a brown paper bag?…Because when I see kids come to school with their lunch in a paper bag, that means that someone cares about them. Miss Laura, can I please have my lunch in a paper bag?”

The strange thing about relationships  we form is that they don’t always fall into the “Ozzie and Harriett” definitions of relationships that we all grew up dreaming about and wishing for….or as Laura explains:

“We all want relationships that are healthy and resolved, and sometimes that simply doesn’t happen. But the beauty of life is that inside these disappointments are hidden the most miraculous of blessings. What we lose and what we might have been pales against what we have.”

I think there are a lot of “middle school” attributes that stick around a lot longer than they should inside each of us. Everyone remembers those terrible years when fitting in was the most important thing in life and the art of making oneself invisible (as needed) the second most important…the scary Wonder Years. No one wanted to be different, heaven forbid; instead everyone wanted to be, look, and act like everyone else…dress the same, speak the same jargon, and never, ever show intellectual aptitudes by raising one’s hand to answer a question. It was the death knoll on acceptance.

I taught eighth graders for three decades;  humor and empathy were my tools to open communication with each and all of them. It is such a tough stage in human development…painful for the students going through it and even more painful for teachers to watch.

But then one day… one of these students returns…and guess what…the butterfly is now self-assured, confident, and proud of his/her individuality.

It is this appreciation and acceptance of individuality that is the key to living a fulfilled life…it is also the invisible thread that will connect us to the people who are destined to play an important role in our lives and we in theirs.

So until tomorrow…“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
― Bernard M. Baruch

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Honey Burrell added a wonderful personal anecdote about Ernest and Tom (owners of Continental Corner) while growing up in Summerville.

Very well put Becky. I was a lucky little girl growing up across the street from the wonderful Yatrelis family. I enjoyed Greek treats and salads long before the Corner opened! Ernie and Tom rode my horse, Charcoal one day. Then they bought several Appaloosa horses which they enjoyed over the years. What wonderful memories I have and will always cherish. To everything there is a time and a season. Hold tight to the great memories.