by Jack White
This is an excerpt. To read the story, buy the book here.
The Amazing Coincidence
And the desks were just what she needed. They came from a Catholic school built in 1904 for African American girls. The school was still open. The seller volunteered there on his day off. One day the sisters asked him to bring something to the attic, and in the attic he discovered long rows of 1904 desks, covered in coal dust.
He told the sisters he could raise money for the school by selling the desks on eBay. When Pat’s daughter found the listing, the 12 desks had just gone up for bid. They were the final 12.
They were perfect. The school in Pittsburgh and the school in Sykesville both opened for African American children in 1904. That was a coincidence, but that wasn’t the amazing coincidence.
The man drove from Pittsburgh to Salopha and unloaded the desks in Pat’s barn. As she was writing out the check, she noticed his name. It was Lejba. She thought it was an unusual name and asked him about it.
He told her that his grandfather came to America from Sweden. Pat told him that her grandfather had also come to America from Sweden. In fact, they both came in 1910.
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