I HAVE A FRIEND at work, Noreen Doloughty, who has had the most unusual things happen to her. She'll be out somewhere and maybe talking about someone in a conversation. And then she'll meet or get a phone call from that very person. Maybe several times in the same day. She talks about coincidence, and the thought crossed my mind of that old saying: There are no coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason.

Does it? Do we actually serve a purpose in life – good or bad? Hmm. Makes me wonder.

•

I've known exactly two sets of identical twins. Both – or maybe I should say "all" – were female. The first set actually was a co-worker and her sister. I never met her sister, who lived in Maryland, but maybe I didn't have to. Beth Pollock sat at the desk in front of me while we toiled away at a weekly publication in Sharpsburg, Pa. Beth was (and probably still is) a wonderful person: Fun, great sense of humor and cute too. I can say that now because we no longer work together.

Quite a few times, Beth would say, "I'm going to call my sister." And Beth would pick up the phone to find that her sister was already on the line, because she had called Beth at that very moment.

Was there some kind of connection between the two? If this had happened just once, I would have marked it under coincidence. But this happened a number of times.

If I had been wise enough, I would have invited myself to lunch with both of them to see just how alike they were. As it was, I wasn't wise enough.

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I asked Noreen if she thought her life was being pushed in a certain direction, toward some destination. She said she thought she was, although she wasn't sure what it was.

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Many people believe that everyone we meet in our lives serves a purpose, from the guy who bumps into you on the sidewalk to those around us in our circle of family, friends and co-workers.

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The other set of identical twins were sisters to my co-worker in Hong Kong. Dora Cheok's sisters were very close. By this time, I was intrigued by the idea of twins. Not Dr. Mengele intrigued but very curious.

The sisters are from Singapore and on a visit to see Big Sister Dora, they stopped by the office after work. I asked if they did any twin things, and each said, "Oh no. We're not like that."

We spoke for another 10 minutes. I realized after a few minutes of me tennis-tournamenting my head back and forth that each would finish the other's sentence. I was talking to one person. At one point, I closed my eyes, and it was true. Each was able to complete the other's thoughts. And they never broke their rhythm when they spoke. All true, I swear.

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I once missed being involved in a life-ending car accident by about three seconds. It was in southern New Jersey on Route 40 heading toward the Hamilton Mall. It was January 1988, and I had saved enough money to buy a word processor.

As I approached Route 40, a car barreled across Route 40 on a rural road at about 75 miles per hour without stopping. If I had arrived at that intersection three seconds earlier, I wouldn't be typing this today.

I've thought about that many times. I wonder how three lost seconds meant the difference between life and death. What if I hadn't spent an extra three seconds drying my hands? What if my keys hadn't caught on the inside of my jacket pocket while I was trying to retrieve them? What if I hadn't brushed my teeth for an extra three seconds? Three seconds, and I cease to exist..

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I ponder this today after some conversations with friends, including Noreen. Is our purpose here merely to make as much money as we can? Be successful? Buy nice things? Raise a family? Be a good spouse, parent, son or brother? I would hope that our life's purpose is a bit more noble than owning every goddamn thing on the planet.

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I've changed jobs (not including the military or my paper route) eight times, although I've worked in nine places and have moved 18 times. I sometimes ponder that. Why did I move so many times? It sure didn't make me rich, famous or better looking. Could the impossible happen and it made me wiser?

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I have some thoughts on my purpose here on Planet Earth. Perhaps before I board the final spaceship out of here, I'll share those thoughts. If you're giving this some thought, consider your entire life in its entirety and not just a few years.

I've often heard people say that they have found their life's calling. I understand what they are saying, although I'm not entirely convinced that any of us know our purpose in life.

 
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