I thought I got my writing out of my system for the time being but I didn't. Its been bugging me all afternoon and I need to finish and empty my head the rest of the way. Even if this is just for me to read when I'm 87 and remember this experience vividly. I'm not the best story teller or most descriptive person. I just tell the story straight up even though its the really really long version :). I have the coolest things happen to me, with the coolest people all of the time but this is just the most recent:
I booked my flight a couple weeks ago to visit my daughter and her family in North Carolina. I didn't have many options when flying out of a smaller airport, into an even smaller airport that is across the country. I would leave at 6am out of Billings, arrive in Salt Lake at the time my next flight would've already started boarding with 30 min til take-off, and on to Atlanta Georgia where I would have a good 3 hr layover. I was real nervous about the 30 minutes I had to get to my gate in Salt Lake so I paid extra to upgrade my seat to Priority Seating. Priority seating sits right behind First Class so I could get out real quick to find my next gate and hopefully not miss my flight. It only cost me $9.99 to upgrade and the seats are much roomier and more comfortable. Thank goodness I was able to get off my flight and to my next flight just in time. I had tried to upgrade my next flight as well, just for fun, but there were no upgrades available. I was a little disappointed but little did I know the Universe was once again working its power.
I boarded the flight to Atlanta a little out of breathe but relieved that I'd made it in time. This was a bigger plane with two seats to the right, the middle section with 3 seats and another section to my left with 2 seats. I was seated towards the back of the plane in the middle seat of the middle section. Ugh, prob my least favorite spot. I always prefer the isle seat but I had no options for this flight and was just happy I didn't miss it. As I walked down the isle looking for my row, counting ahead to find my seat, I saw that there were already two gentlemen seated in the seats on either side of my middle seat. As I sat down I noticed the man on my left was in a business suit on his computer busy typing away on his keyboard. He glanced up and smiled. The man on my right was dressed in sweatshirt shorts, a t-shirt, tennis shoes and a baseball cap. He was a big man, not overweight but big with a scruffy unshaven face and tattooed sleaves down both arms. He was super friendly and if I hadn't known better I would judge him as a sort of a redneck. Nothing wrong with rednecks but I ended up being wrong as usual. I love it when I'm wrong because it shows me once again the whole "book by its cover" concept.
The flight was about to take off and I noticed the businessman was sitting on my seatbelt. He apologized and asked me where I was headed. I told him I was headed to North Carolina and we had a brief friendly conversation. The man on my right had overheard our conversation, waited until we were done, and then asked me where at In North Carolina was I headed? I told him Jacksonville. He was from Ashville, north west in the mountainous parts of NC. He said that he and his business partner, sitting across the isle from him, had been in Kalispell MT on vacation. His business partner looked about the same age, mid to later 30's and real outdoorsy as well. I had to ask what type of business they had as I was really curious because my first impression wasn't that of businessmen. He told me that he and his partner ran a couple Addiction Recovery houses in North Carolina. They were high end, new age, after-care recovery programs something like a half-way house but the clients were there by choice not court ordered. He said their program was very expensive because they wanted to be able to give their clients a beautiful home and be able to do extreme activities like skydiving, river rafting, snowboarding, skiing, surfing etc. etc. He said they wanted to be able to show addicts how to have extreme highs and fun while sober. He also told me how his staff taught the clients how to live in this world doing day to day tasks while sober as many addicts don't know how. Their program was approximately 9-12 months long, they housed men ages 18-27, and they were pretty successful at it. He was very enthusiastic telling me about their mission statement and how they wanted to help as many people as they could. He said they gave back a lot of their earnings in helping other programs and giving to those in need. He told me they even take in homeless junkies off the street (he informed me that both he and his business partner were recovering junkies), and went on to explain to me what a homeless junkie was as if I had no clue! I informed him that I had a son that had been homeless and was an addict but I wasn't sure if he was currently using drugs or not. He looked a little shocked and very curious. He asked me many questions about my son and listened with compassion and understanding. He was very interested in him and sympathetic of my journey with him thus far.
Our flight was 3 hrs and 45 minutes long but it felt like 20 minutes. He told me about his fiancé and his dogs. I told him about my goofy pets. I was so thankful that I got to have such a nice conversation with such an interesting person for that long flight, especially if I had to sit in the middle AND in the back. As we were getting ready to land, my new friend told me to be sure to checkout their recovery house website. He said to go to the "contact us" link and get the phone number off of it and give it to my son. And then he said, and ill never quit getting goosebumps when I tell this, he said if my son would call him, he would fly him out to NC immediately and scholarship him into his recovery program for a year. WHAT?! I was in shock and numb at first and then reality hit and I was fighting back tears. Omg, what a kind offer from a stranger. I couldn't believe it. I knew right then, 100%, why I wasn't able to upgrade my seat. It was meant to be. I was full of that warmth that is unexplained by words and happens when something bigger than reality occurs. I didn't know what to say. I thanked him from the bottom of my heart. He told me to let people know about their program because they wanted to help as many addicts as they could. He said, I may never hear from your son but I'll never forget about him or our conversation and he walked off the plane. Once again I had to watch to see if he was going to disappear into into thin air like the angel that he was for me. Nope- he kept on walking. No matter what happened after this moment, I would never forget it.
I got off the plane, got myself together and called my mom because I just had to tell someone. Then I called my son and told him about this amazing option. He had been trying to call me at the same time to let me know that Job Corps had contacted him and he had been re-accepted into the program. He thought the recovery program sounded awesome but really needed the job training more than anything and was clean of drugs and alcohol. Wow. Great news all around. He ended up checking into Job Corps 5 days later. I was able to contact my new friend via his website and thank him for his offer and give him my sons status with Job Corps. He assured me that his invitation was an open one. Another wow.
I know that this story isn't over and I'm not quite sure how it will end. Who knows if my son will ever go into the recovery program, maybe it'll be someone else I know. But for some reason, this happened to me and it can only have a great ending. I can't wait to find out what happens next and I love when these universe moving, energy connecting, amazing life events happen to me. They happen all the time and I'm ready, open and waiting for the next one :). To be continued....
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