On Friday night we decided to get a little closer to the annual July 4 fireworks by heading to Elm Street. Traditionally, we opt for our easy-access viewing just up the hill from our house, at Derryfield Park. On the upside, it’s conveniently close and parking is not an issue. On the down side, it’s a distant view and there are usually lots of mosquitoes.
But after dropping my son off for a rooftop celebration of his independence with some friends at The Lofts at Mill West, and then circling the city with my daughter, Julie, to get back home using an alternate route due to road closures, I saw lots of people camped out in their various favorite viewing spots – at the West end of Bridge Street, by the river on Foundry Street, off Eddy Road at the edge of I-295, or heading toward Arms Park.
On a whim we circled home and picked up my husband and headed back toward downtown, finding a good parking spot outside the courthouse. We figured we’d grab a pizza and find a stoop with a view.
As we passed Piccola Italia on our way to Bada Bing, my husband spun around said, “Hey, just like your mom’s,” and sure enough, bigger than life, I’d just walked past a refurbished 1955 Chevy, in all its green glory.
I knew what I had to do, stopping long enough to snap a photo, and remembering that it was exactly one year ago – also on my mother’s birthday – that I had a close encounter with a green ghost from my childhood inside the Citizen’s Bank parking garage.
My mother would have been 97 on Friday. She is gone 10 years now.
I suspect it may have been the same car from last year, belonging to Joe LaRochelle. Oh, and if you’re out there, Joe, thanks for being in the right place at the right time, again.
Anyway, I am not sure exactly what it all means. I haven’t seen a green ’55 Chevy in the wild since July 3, 2014. So why did I see one again, exactly one year later?
I am not a big believer in coincidence. Things happen that are hard to explain or understand in simple terms. But if we’re listening and watching, I believe sometimes we get what we need from the universe. I have been struggling with some things, and wishing for someone to reassure me that I’m on the right track.
For me, it was what I was looking for, a reminder that everything is as it should be in my world, and that life goes on. Happy Birthday, Mom.
Carol Robidoux is editor and publisher of Manchester Ink Link. ←She once had a glamour photo taken in the 1990s.
You’re one click away! Sign up for our free eNewsletter and never miss another thing
