One day not long after 9/11, I was coming out of Saks Fifth Avenue, just across from Rockefeller Plaza.  I was feeling low and hoping I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew because I looked particularly worn and tired.  It was rush hour and as I was crossing Fifth, I see a very handsome man walking toward me.  He looked very familiar and I remember thinking to myself how much like Jim Brown (former football player) this man looked but knew it couldn’t be because Jim Brown was a much older man.  As we got closer to each other (mind you, the street was very crowded), I realized he resembled someone I knew from elementary school who lived around the corner.  I stopped him, asked him if he was ( fill in the blanks) and it was.  He couldn’t remember my name but said I looked familiar.  After checking me out, exchanging some key questions like, “are you married and what have you been doing the last 40 years,” I gave him my business card.  He called the next day and we lunched at The Sea Grill.  As he hugged me goodbye he said, “let’s stay in touch even if it’s as friends.”  That “even if” was the key.  At the time, we were both involved in other relationships, me unhappily and him mildly content.  After many years of unhappy relationships I felt compelled to pursue the connection with him as he did as well.  We broke up with our partners and have since been together (almost 8 years).  I adore this man and feel we were meant to meet on that particular corner and moment in time.  Strange and sweet that it should be someone from early childhood.