Have you ever experienced a close encounter? You know, the unexpected kind? Either you bumped into a friend or foe unexpectedly at some function or in a store and didn’t know what to say. Or it was just an awkward moment? How you respond to these incidents makes you…. you!
Many times, these close encounters are a fun surprise of a person or thing you haven’t seen in a while and you are the recipient of a nice warm fuzzy. Other times, the fangs come out as your first reaction is fear or distress. You were caught off guard by a person or thing and immediately went into panic mode. Or maybe one of your kids or grandkids plays a trick on you with a loud noise or a splash of water, and it was funny to everyone else but not to you. As we get older, many of us like a little calm in our lives.

Hopefully, your close encounter wasn’t something serious, like a car accident. None of us like those kinds of encounters. Sometimes these close encounters can be with an animal, bird, fish, or something of that sort. Maybe you took the kids or grandkids to a petting zoo and you were all feeding or petting one critter or another, and someone got an unexpected kiss or sloppy lick from one of the critters.

Over the years, I’ve had several of these incidents, and while some were partially expected, some were totally “out of the blue” as they say. While at a zoo I had the opportunity to offer a giraffe a carrot. Now this wasn’t just any old offer. The caretaker had me put this carrot in my mouth and the giraffe walked over and took it out of my mouth with a big sloppy kiss. Yes, I got slimed a little bit, but it was also a fun close encounter to have an animal that close.

While on vacation recently down on the West Coast of Florida, we were boating and watching the dolphins jump out of the water. It was exciting to see so many newborns with their mothers swimming by the boat. As we paused to take a picture off the side of the boat, a large adult manatee came right up to us as if to say “hi”! They just lifted their head out of the water and seemed to grin and then they were gone. Talk about a National Geographic moment! Another unexpected close encounter!

So, what was your last close encounter? Was it a friend or foe? Animal, vegetable, or mineral? Kid or grandkid? Whatever it was and however you reacted it makes you…. you!

Be sure you are always prepared for these close encounters when it comes to medical, financial, or legal coverage. Not sure you are covered adequately? Call us, we can help!