My Insane True Story That Began on a Flight in 2018 and Ended Last Night

Proof that the Universe works in mysterious ways

Gregory Russell Benedikt
6 min readMay 17, 2022
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

This story is proof that the Universe has a bigger plan for all of us.

That there is a guiding force patiently working in the background, guiding us to live an extraordinary life.

At least that’s what I believe.

Let me tell you why.

117 degrees

This story begins in 2018 when I was flying home to San Francisco from a work trip in Phoenix, Arizona.

I boarded the plane and shuffled my way back to my seat, trying my best to not sweat on anyone.

It was 117 degrees out and I was wearing dress clothes. As you might imagine, this was not a winning combination.

As I settled into my seat (trying not to die of heat exhaustion) I exchanged pleasantries with the man and woman sitting next to me.

They were a friendly Polish couple in their 60s, and by the time we reached cruising altitude I was in deep conversation with the man whose name was Jerzy.

The unsuspecting student

Over the course of the next two hours, Jerzy and I dove deep into many topics…

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