Ever encounter someone you know...

[Santa Kang]

Yes, the woman who I married. We first met at the place where I worked while in college. She began dating a good friend of mine, so we got to know each other outside of work. Eventually she and my friend broke up and we lost contact. Then, about 8 years later she came into the place I was working, we recognized each other and exchanged numbers. One thing lead to another and three years later we got married. Unexpected on many levels.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I ran into the little sister of a friend of mine at an airport in Germany who I hadn't seen in about 10 years.

Cool!

And congratulations, Nerys Myk. I quite envy you.

About 20 years ago I saw a former lover of mine on a train. Alas, I was so thunderstruck at seeing him after more than a decade that I was kindof petrified and when I recovered from my surprise he had vanished in the crowd I often wondered what had become of him since he had disappeared without a trace after his parents had died and he had gotten cheated out of his house. Looks like he's doing fine, though (I googled him the other day and shall try to get into contact with him again).

 

[Shat Happens]

Once I was in my car, stopped at a red light, a dude crossing the street recognized me and seemed very happy. I didn't recognize him but the guy was so friendly I played along. I wasn't a mistake because he called my name.

Having just a few seconds to exchange phone numbers before the light turned green, I picked the only piece of paper I had in the car, gave it to him so he wrote his name and number, got it back, tore it in half, wrote my name and number in the other half and gave it to him. Just then the light turns green and we went our ways away.

Next red light I looked at the paper -- and realized I've kept the wrong piece, with MY name and number.

I still have no idea who that fucker was.

 

[Ashu]

I've randomly ran into an old boss at Vancouver international airport on my way down to see shameless. Her and her entire family were there. It was slightly awkward trying to make conversation with the whole lot of them.

 

[shivkala]

When I was kid, twice my family went to Disney World on summer vacation. Both times I ran into the same classmate and her family in the park.

Years later, I recognized her when I was stuffing dollar bills into her g-string.

My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold
My angel is a centerfold, angel is a *stripper*
My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold
Angel is a *stripper*

In my senior year of high school, I went up to Boston to interview at a college. We met my Uncle and Aunt at a mall and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Low and behold, the manager was a former neighbor from our street back in New York.

 

[Trekker4747]

Just this past Friday someone I went to High School with delivered my pizza. This is someone in high school who was very, very smart; in fact he got a really good scholarship.

I answered the door and there was a "knowing" look on his for a moment, he mentioned that he went to high school with someone with my name, after noticing it on the CC ticket, and after some questions we determined that it was me as we went to the same high school and the same graduation year. I even recognized his name after we talked some.

Heck, not only was he a pizza delivery driver he also grew a whole other two people in weight.

Quite, shocking to see, really. Would not have called that for him at all.

 

[Kirby]

I was in Omaha on a business trip, and the guy working the desk at the hotel was a guy who lived on my floor in my freshman year dorm. We both had the "Where do I know this guy from?" look for a few minutes until we figured it out.

 

[Taylirious]

I once saw a former coworker at a strip club, dancing. LOL. And all sorts of people from school, work and family friends visiting. LOLOLOL!!!

Actually a girl who bullied me in middle school was dancing there too and wanted to date me so many years later.

 

[Finngle Bells]

Just this past Friday someone I went to High School with delivered my pizza. This is someone in high school who was very, very smart; in fact he got a really good scholarship.

I answered the door and there was a "knowing" look on his for a moment, he mentioned that he went to high school with someone with my name, after noticing it on the CC ticket, and after some questions we determined that it was me as we went to the same high school and the same graduation year. I even recognized his name after we talked some.

Heck, not only was he a pizza delivery driver he also grew a whole other two people in weight.

Quite, shocking to see, really. Would not have called that for him at all.

I have someone who I suspect may have met a similar fate as this guy you knew. He was incredibly smart, but very socially awkward…well beyond me on both counts. I'm sure he got an scholarship. Nobody knows what became of him which is astonishing for me as he came from the same town as the school (a school for the deaf) and his mother used to help out at the school. I'm Facebook friends with who probably was one of the only two close friends to him, and she has no idea what happened to him.

 

[HIjol]

walking the 1000 year-old streets of Gamla Stan (Old Town) in Stockholm, I heard a girl child's voice say what I thought was my name...I shook my head and walked on, certain that I heard wrong...until I heard it again...it was one of my previous years first grade student with her family...talk about random...!...but very cute...

My grade school principal and I got to know each other very well...or, more accurately, she got to know my butt-cheeks very well (easy, not like that!)...I was in her office weekly for paddlings for naughtiness...she was a real fire-ball, right out of Central Casting for Spinster Old School Principals...years later, as I was delivering for United Parcel, I found myself face-to-face with her, as I had a package...we only looked at addresses in those days, until someone answered the door...I am sure as I can be she did not recognize me...it was only then that I realized she had always been about 4' 9"...she had always seemed bigger to me...

 

[Tiberius Jim]

I was on a murder trial jury about 5 years ago. Once I was selected I realized one of the other jurors was my freshman year science teacher. It was odd to be a peer of a person who had not that long ago been my "superior."

 

[Taylirious]

I am surprised half the people I knew went to the same strip club, boys & girls. LOL.

 

[DimesDan]

^Ok, I'll bite.

Why?

 

[Taylirious]

I worked there and hung out with people there and was surprised to see people I never thought I would see caught dead there.

 

[Brolan]

Disney World seems seems to be a universal meeting spot. I've been there three times and each time met people I had not seem in years. One visit I met three different people. Crazy.

 

[DimesDan]

I worked there and hung out with people there and was surprised to see people I never thought I would see caught dead there.

That's fair enough then.

As for the Original Question, can't say I have, I've bumped into a few people I haven't expected to bump into but nothing too surprising.

 

[StarMan]

First time I left New Zealand I traveled to Melbourne. One of the first people I spotted was one of my customers from the TAB I used to manage. Quite an interesting "Oh, hello! fancy seeing you in another country!" moment. Next time I traveled to Australia (Surfers paradise), I caught a glimpse of another customer from my TAB, although I didn't say hello as I had previously banned him from my premises.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I've had a couple instances of this.

My parents split up when I was a teenager. I lived with my father in Alaska and my mother relocated to Indiana. When I was 15, I flew by myself from Alaska. Bad weather got me stuck in Minneapolis. It just so happened that a classmate from the previous year--who had moved a while ago--was traveling with his family on that same flight. So, stuck in the same city together, his family helped look after me until they got a flight out. That was fun.

Another happened a couple years ago when I took a trip back to Indiana to visit my kids. We were at a pet store since the kids love looking at/playing with the animals there. Over near the cat area, there was this guy and his family. He said hello to me, and we talked for a few minutes, and I got the impression we'd worked together at my previous employer in the area. By the end of the conversation, I was pretty sure who he was. I really just winged it, though, never letting on that I had no idea who I was speaking with.

After I got back, I looked him up to see if I was right. Turned out the person I thought he was had died months before. To this day, I have no idea who he was!

 

[rhubarbodendron]

That'd make a cool ghost story! =)

 

[Mario de Monti]

I´m from Germany and went to high school in Berlin. Since it´s a rather big city I hardly ever met any of my classmates there by accident. But a few years after I finished school I ran into a former classmate in San Francisco