What are the odds?? I have a good story for you all… please share your stories of cool coincidences.

[Saxum]

During college I worked at North Buffalo Food Coop near University of Buffalo.  I would have frequent visitor from a club downtown who missed or could not find what they wanted at Broadway market.   I became friendly with buyer who asked me once how well I was paid and I told him and he was surprised I was paid so little.  He told he their club needed a mixologist,  I was told that I would be paid in tips only but tips were very good especially during events.  He explained in details what I would be responsible for - they premixed common drinks like screwdrivers, Mai Tais and such but I would responsible for mixing drinks to order. I went ro Goodwill store near UB and brought a spiral bound drink mixing book and while watching Johnny Carson I wrote a drink joke for each joke on back of page of previous drink.

Note: I twice sent jokes to Johnny Carson Productions which I got paid for; first time I cashed check bank manager asked to see it and then asked me if he could "purchase" check from me for amount on check and I said sure it would make no difference to me since I did not have an account check would not be returned  to me.

First day I worked tips were good making as much in a few hours as entire shift at Coop.  For each drink I would tell a joke based on drink to customer and I had customers who would order different drinks to hear different jokes and manager noticed this. I worked for a few weekends and I was told next weekend they would be a guest comedian and for me to be there early.   Club was full with even all bar seats full and more.   Half an hour after comedian was supposed to arrive manager came to me and asked me to entertain customers as a warm up act and i told him I was a bartender not a nightclub performer.  He said I was a mixologist not a bartender and I worked at will.  He then told me customers were starting to ask for refunds and if I kept 90% of customers he would pay me a bonus of $200.  I agreed and for over an hour I'd ask customer what he or she was drinking and tell a joke.  We lost a few customers but not many.  When guest comedian showed up manager asked crowd to give warm up act thanks and I was cheered.   I went to manager and asked for the bonus "so he did not forget" (I have heard complaints in past from bartenders) and after grumbling he did.   

 

I went back to club next weekend but number of customers for me were less than usual and customers I had were asking for different jokes but they heard them before.  I worked on new jokes but I did not create enough and tips became so little it was not worth working there and I told manager I would not be returning and he said that is fine he was going to install a coffee and ice cream bar.

 

....

 

....

 

After college I was working as an engineer traveling thru Atlanta.  Somebody walked up to me and said I know you but I do not remember your name.  I asked if he went to Frontier Central High School and he said no.  I asked if he went to University of Buffalo he said no but he had travelled through it once on business trip.  I asked if he had ever been to North Buffalo Food Coop and he said no.  Our business group were only at hotel where they are dinner and a night club and then he said that is where I saw you - you were starring at show at nightclub.  I said I was only the warm up act and he said they did not have a lot of time and they left before star was there but they enjoyed my act immensely.  He did not never get my name again.

[BuffaloBill]

On 9/16/2024 at 4:27 PM, Augie said:

I was walking thru Costco with my wife on Father’s Day of this year. My phone rang and I looked at the caller ID. I froze and didn’t know what to do so I just held it out for my wife to see. She froze. It was from our son Michael. He passed away in 2018. Stunned, I eventually answered. It was some lady who has his old number looking for a guy named Leo. 

 

I like to think of it as a little hello. 

 

Michael is due to have a new little niece in about 3 weeks. Her name is Michaela. 

 

 

.

 

Looking for a proper emoji to put on this story and it’s hard to pick one. First sorry for the loss of your son. Second, what a mind numbing turn of events.

[BuffaloBill]

On 9/19/2024 at 7:58 PM, Bad Things said:

It's not just new Orleans.

The last time I was back in Upstate NY, I was gobsmacked when I saw a sign on Irondequoit Beach stating, "No defecating on the beach." 🤔

Maybe people need to cut down on their intake of Garbage Plates and White Hots.

When you have to go….you have to go.

[US Egg]

On 9/19/2024 at 7:58 PM, Bad Things said:

The last time I was back in Upstate NY, I was gobsmacked when I saw a sign on Irondequoit Beach stating, "No defecating on the beach." 🤔

Some people can’t swim.

[Not at the table Karlos]

Went to LA/San Diego with family when I was 17. We spent the entire time we were there looking for my step dad’s friend from the navy. Hasn’t seen him since leaving and hasn’t had contact with him since. Went all over for 3 days to places my stepdad knew his family lived. They all moved away and current residents didn’t have any contact info. Everyone was mad we wasted our time there looking for him. 
 

A month after we got back we all went to Sabres game. My brother and I bought seats in a different section. The guy behind us would not stop loudly talking about his time in the navy and how he had a friend that was from the area and kept wondering if he came back to Buffalo after the navy. He’s describing the guy to his friend and its matches my step dad perfectly. I turned around and asked him if his name was the same as my stepdads. He gets all excited and said yes he’s been looking for him for years and couldn’t find him. We were like we spent 3 days looking for you in socal last month. I was like hang on a second. Ran to the section him and my mom were in and got them to come to our seats.
 

Guys flight got cancelled in another city and had to come to Buffalo for the flight and decided to take in a Sabres game before leaving. Just happened to sit behind us and tell the story. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

On 9/19/2024 at 11:13 PM, Saxum said:

During college I worked at North Buffalo Food Coop near University of Buffalo...

Hey...you stole this story from Limeade!

*
(checks member profile)

*
Name changes should not be allowed. 🤨

[djp14150]

Mine are morbid……..

 

1. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy mcVeigh went to starpoint high school. I knew his sister and classmates of his

 

2.  That northern NY prison escape thst became a Netflix miniseries. You had the CO assist thrm and having a relationship with one of the two es apes. I’m connected to the other one shot and killed. He and his brother were foster kids in May hometown. My brother and his brother were in 7 th grade together and got into a fight. They lived down the street from my brothers now wife. They played with him in the neighborhood games.

 

3. the nashville school shooting. My bother snd his wife live in nashville and each connected to a few victims of the shooting. My SIL knee one of the adults killed. My brothers colleague lost a niece/ nephew/ grandchild

 

some weird random things…

 

1. Freshman yr at college. One of the hallmates went to school with a former neighbor of mine. Thry moved when he was a senior to the southern suburbs.

 

2. random plane flight. There was someone I knew sitting near me from a prior job I had. He didn’t work innthe immediate group as me but was someone I regularly saw.

 

3. if I wasn’t able to travel back to Buffalo in conjunction with work travel therr is a 10% probability I woukd have bern on the flight that continental flight that crashed.

 

4. Years ago I was at Grand Canyon walk the trail on the rim. I come across a family from buffalo. They weren’t wearing bills gear. Just talked and they said they were from buffalo.  Other places in my adult life this has happened where I met transplants randomly ( not at a bills bar). Along the I-95 corridor there are many buffalo area transplants 

——-below is a longer story—- 

 

 I was in high school ski club. The ski club teacher was young. My older brother didn’t know her.  This teach was not my teacher. She taught things like accounting and business math classes.  She and my dad , who came to pick me up after skiing, got to talking.  They were from the same family because they shared same family stories.  They knew the same grandparents level of the family. I don’t recall ever seeing that part of the family.

 

my dads father was a single child and died before I was born.we were separated from the family last name relatives. The story was brothers and their SOs came here from Sicily around 1907 or so.  My grandfather was the first child born in the U.S. in 1910. 
 

Before My senior year this teacher left my school on maternity leave. I graduated in 1987. The end of the prior school year she was obviously pregnant.

 

I don’t recall the exact year. It was roughly mid 1990s. I was at a friends house around Xmas/ new years time. This friend wife invited her brother and his gf.   My brother was with me there.
 

I got talking to the girlfriend and it turns a little stalkerish but I was right— she had mentioned her last name was the same as ours. She looked close enough to be the younger sister of that teacher. I say to her is your sisters name is XXX and you should have a niece/ nephew who is about y years old. She confirmed it.  My brother had this dumbfounded look on his face.  I explain to him thr background story of her sister being a teacher and our dad talking to her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Behindenemylines]

Back in the 1990’s my sister ran out of gas near the montezuma swamp.  A gentleman stopped to help and ended up being friends with our father from years prior.  My father arrived shortly and we all went out for coffee after a fill up.  They hadn’t seen each other in decades but was like old times.  
 

A few months later we were on a boat I sailing in Chicago and moored near another boat.  The same guy came out with drinks from the other boat and happened to be friends with the people we were sailing with too!