This article, titled "After 40 years, a personal relic rediscovered" appeared in the North Raleigh News portion of The News & Observer on Wednesday, August 25th. I thought you might find it interesting.
"The old Swiss Army rucksack caught Ronald Bobeck's eye, sticking out of the flea market clutter like a childhood friend spotted in a ball game crowd. Forty years ago, he'd carried a pack just like that in the Civil Air Patrol, before he's joined the Air Force and gone to Vietnam, before he'd spend Sundays at the NC State Fairgrounds sporting a shirt that says "Old Guys Rule."
The sack was field gray and white, made to blend in with snow, and Bobeck pointed it out to the vendor, calling, "Oh, wow, I used to have one of those." Then something crazy happened......the vendor Mark Aman picked up the rucksack, opened its flap and said, "There's a name inside and it says Bobeck."
Bobeck got quiet, and his jaw dropped a little, but he managed to fish out his driver's licence and show Aman that his old rucksack had indeed managed to cross three state lines and come to meet him after four decades.
"It wanted to get back to me," said Bobeck.....It was one of those strange karmatic events. The universe made it happen.".....
He'd last seen it near Wilkes-Barre, PA., in about 1970, when he worked on search and rescue teams for CAP....."
Aman sells mostly military items, and this was his only pack. He'd had it for about five years, bought from another military collector at a show in Raleigh. The coincidence makes him shudder. He only sets up shop at the fairgrounds on occasional weekends. Bobeck just happened to walk past on the same Sunday, notice the pack among all the other paraphernalia and ask about it out loud......Aman almost didn't read the name out loud. If he hadn't, the man-pack reunion wouldn't have happened. "It had been just wandering around in the ether," Aman said. "It made the journey not to Arizona or California. It came to right where he was walking by."
Bobeck paid $10 for his old pack, a bargain for such a relic....."
***
If you're the praying kind, please send up a few for my best friend, who is being taken to Cleveland Clinic tonight by ambulance because of heart/lung problems her doctors cannot pinpoint.
17 comments:
Coincidence, indeed. If I had been the vendor, I would have given the man the rucksack for free. But maybe the vendor really needed the ten bucks? Nothing is black and white.
I am sending healing thoughts for your friend.
What an incredible story! The pack must have had a homing device in it!1 ;)
I have prayed for your friend. I hope they find out what is wrong, and set her on the way to recovery.
I am thinking of you and your friend right now.
That was an interesting story about old rucksack.
There are some very strange coincidences in life, I often marvel at what a small world it really is.
Prayers going out for your friend. Keep us updated.
What a wonderful coincidence! Mathmatically speaking it's slight but not impossible (obviously!) LoL! I love this story as I know this must have made that man very happy. Rediscovering old belongings is having a tangiblke link to past memories. Thanks for sharing it.
Sending positive thoughts to your friend and hoping the doctors find out how to help them soon. Positive thoughts to you as well, as this must be worrying for you.
That is a strange one suitable for Ripley's Believe it or Not!
Yes, I will send up a few prayers for your friend and hope the doctors at the new clinic can find the answer to her problems.
Loved the story of the rucksack...
What are the chances of that happening? Million to one a safe bet. Neat story.
Your friend is in my prayers. The Cleveland Clinic is one of the best in the country so she is in good hands.
Now that is an amazing story....
I am sending prayers for your friend right now.
That's a great story. What a fine coincidence.
Sending good thoughts to your friend.
I like a nice slice of coincidence.
That is really eerie. Life is full of strange happenings, but I think this is one for Robert Ripley.
I hope your friend is diagnosed correctly and can be helped. I will forward healing thoughts her way.
What a fanulous story, Judy...I LOVE IT! Thanks for shating it here, my dear....
So sorry to read about your friend. Prayers are coming her way as I write this...!
What an amazing story! The universe certainly does have a wonderful way of making things fall into place...
Sending healing thoughts and good karma to your friend. Wishing her a quick diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
amazed and praying.
I hoped he would make a present of the bag but I suppose business is business.
A prayer for your friend.
Socialist commentators: he received an incredible bargain getting it for less than half of what I paid for it.
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