Part B What a Coincidence !(Part One)
Andrew has always wanted to be a doctor. But the tuition for a medical school in 1984 was 15,000 dollars a year, which was more than his family could afford. To help him realize his dream, his father，Mr. Stewart, a real estate agent, began searching the house-for-sale ads in newspapers in order to find extra business. One advertisement that he noted down was for the sale of a house in a nearby town. Mr. Stewart called the owner, trying to persuade him to let him be his agent. Somehow the succeeded and the owner promised that he would come to him if he failed to get a good deal with his present agent. Then they made an appointment to meet and discuss the thing. As good things are never easy to acquire, the time for the appointment had to be changed almost ten times. On the day when they were supposed to meet at 3o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Stewart received another call from the owner. His heart sank as he feared there would be another change of time. And so it was. The owner told him that he couldn’t make it at three but if he would come right then, they could talk it over. Mr. Stewart was overjoyed. Leaving everything aside, he immediately set out to drive to the house.
As he approached the area, he had a strange feeling of having been there before. The streets, the trees, the neighborhood, all looked familiar to him. And when he finally reached the house, something clicked in his mind. It used to be the house of his father-in-law! The old man had died fifteen years ago but when he was alive, he had often visited him with his wife and children. He remembered that, like his son Andrew, his father –in-law had also wanted to study medicine and failing to do so, had always hope that one of his daughters or his grandchildren could someday become a doctor.
What a Coincidence !(Part Two)
When he entered the house, Mr. Stewart was even more amazed to find that he house was decorated exactly as he had remembered it. He told the owner about this and the latter became intrigued too. However, they were in for even greater surprises. It so happened that in the middle of their discussion, a postman came to deliver a letter. And the letter was addressed to Mr. Stewart’s father-in-law! Were it not for Mr. Stewart’s presence there and then, the letter would be returned as no person of that name lived in the house any longer. As the postman demanded a signature on the receipt slip, Mr. Stewart signed for his long-deceased father-in-law. Mystified , the owner urged Mr. Stewart to open the letter and see what it contained. The letter was from a bank. When the interest it had earned over the years, the standing value of the amount came to a little over $15,000, just enough money to cover the tuition of Andrew’s first year at a medical college!
Another thing that is worth mentioning is about the postman. The original postman, who had worked in this neighborhood, called in sick that day. So the postman, who was new to the area, came to the sender mail in his place. Had it been the old postman, the letter would undoubtedly be returned to the sender as he knew full well that no person bearing that name lived in that house any longer.
The miracle was a blessing for Andrew. With the money given to him by his grandfather he was able to study medicine. Now he is a doctor in Illinois.
Part C Dad Stops for Gas, Finds Lost Son
Nueng Garcia was the son of an American serviceman stationed in Thailand in 1969. But his father went back to the States when Nueng was only three months old. When he grew up Nueng immigrated to the United States and worked as a gas station clerk in Pueblo, Colorado. His dream was to find his father John Carcia. Year after year, he tried in vain to search for information about the whereabouts of his father.
It was a fine day in Pueblo. There was not a cloud in the blue sky. But for him, it was just another day on the job. Suddenly he noticed the name of one customer who paid with a check. The man, who was in his fifties, had the same surname as his own. Nueng raised his head from the check and looked at the man. Could this be his father? “Are you John Garcia?” he asked. “Yes,” came the answer.
“Were you ever in the Air Force?” “Yes.”
“Were you even in Thailand?”
“What’s that to do with you?” answered the man, who became suspicious by then. “Were you or were you not?” Nueng persisted. “Yes.”
“Did you ever have a son?”
At this truth dawned on the man. They stared at each other and realized at the same moment that they were father and son who were separated 27 years ago and half a world away.
John Garcia hadn’t seen his son since 1969. He lost touch with Nueng’s mother when she started seeing another man. He moved to Pueblo nine years ago. He said he never went to that gas station, wasn’t even low on gas that day and hardly ever paid with a check.
