Chance Meeting

Our chance meeting occurred on Sunday, August 16th, 2009 at Turner Field in Atlanta, GA.  I was in my last year of graduate school which involved one year of 3 clinical rotations.  I had just completed my first clinical rotation in Naples, Florida.  My sister, Laura, had flown down to Florida (first time flying alone) to help me move all of my earthly possesions into my car and make the trek across the southern US to deliver it all to Tupelo, Mississippi where my next clinical rotation would occur.  We decided to make a small road trip out of the event and planned for our first stop to be in Atlanta. 

I love baseball so catching a game sounded like a perfect way to spend our only night in town. By chance, the Braves were playing a night game at home that Sunday. We found a hotel near the stadium (no clue that this is not a safe area), showered off all the grime of a 9 hour (crabby) roadtrip across FL in a car with no AC and walked over to the stadium while large black clouds rolled in overhead.  We payed for cheap nosebleed seats and started making our way to the top of the Ted when fellow fans began pouring back down the stairs, informing us that the sky was about to unleash a major downpour and within moments it did.  The effects of a tropical depression from the Gulf had hit the stadium and did not look like there was an end in sight. 

Laura and I didn't know the area and since we had no where else to go, we decided to stick it out and see if they would still play the game that night.  To kill time we shared some food and a GIANT cup of soda.  We made small talk with some locals while we killed time.  I happened to notice a cute guy standing in a group to our right but it looked mostly like married couples so I didn't give it much thought.  I decided to go receive our free refill on our GIANT soda when I realized that the cute guy had gotten in line right behind me.  I had the sense that he wanted to talk to me but I was way to embarrassed about my GIANT soda to bother making small talk, not to mention that I'm awkward and don't do small talk well.

I made my way back over by my sister and within moments that cute guy had come up to us and was asking if we'd like to grab a drink at the restaurant in the Outfield area.  We agreed and I was thrilled to get the opportunity to overlook the Braves bullpen starting to warm-up as the weather was starting to clear-up.  We got our drinks and, because of the emptied stadium, Heath asked an usher if we could sit down in the right field bleachers area.  The usher agreed even though we didn't have tickets for that area and we enjoyed our first Braves game together.  Laura learned the chop and Heath and I learned that we both liked the band Kings of Leon, for which he had tickets to an upcoming concert.  As the night came to an end I didn't see the point in exchanging numbers since I was only in town for a night and had no intentions of ever spending time in Atlanta again but Laura encouraged us to do so and we're both really lucky she did.  We had an awkward kiss and hug goodbye and agreed to talk again. 

Laura and I hit the road again first thing in the morning on our way to Alabama.  As the sun was coming up and the clouds were lifting in the subtle mountain peaks I realized just how pretty the area was and texted Heath that I thought so since he said he was from there.  He told me that's why they called it "God's Country" and to keep a look-out for Talladega National Speedway which was about to come up on our left.  Little did I know that I would end up going to a race there with that guy in the year to come. 

Laura is loving the Chop

Reliving our first meeting at another Braves vs Philles game 8 months later