The cosmic joke

There’s been a bit of a tiff on the morning train.

I won’t go into details and name names – it wouldn’t be right – but it has involved no small amount of anger/hurt feelings and several rather silly avoidance maneuvers.

However.

The stars aligned this morning and all of us were together once again on the 7:42.

Planted between the two tiffees, I could feel the tension.

But civility was the order of the day and just like the train, the conversation moved along smoothly with only a few to-be-expected stops.
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“My wife’s birthday is this Sunday,” says one of us. “Any ideas?”

This launches into the standard questions: Does she have any hobbies, does she like jewelry, blah yadda blah.

“When is your birthday?” I ask the tiffee to my left.

“August,” he says. “August 27.”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” says the tiffee to my right, with eyes full of incredulity. "WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?"

“August 27,” he repeats.

“Unbelievable,” she says. “That’s my birthday.”

And all of a sudden I’m laughing so hard I can’t breathe.

A cosmic joke.
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For you hard-hearted pragmatists, I’m sure the birthday thing is just a silly coincidence.

But for those of us who believe the Universe has an excellent sense of humor, it was the best cosmic joke I’ve heard in years.

Cosmic jokes – have you ever experienced one? The Universe reminding you in no small or subtle way that we’re all connected and we need to love each other and lighten up a bit?

It will take some heavy thinkery on my part to even remember the last time it’s happened.

So when it does, it’s a cause for great joy.

As is the idea that two of my good train buddies were born on the same day.
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I am listening to: The one-song saxophone player on the Madison Street bridge
I am reading: Three Cups of Tea
And I am: Laughing