Many years ago I read a statement, “Coincidence happens more often than not.”

Hace muchos años leí, “Las coincidencias suceden con más frecuencia que nó.”

Today Saturday my Portland visitor Curtis Daily and I went to Granville Island. There was a Latin American festival featuring a day of the dead altar and also a table with used books in Spanish.

Hoy sábado sábado fui con mi amigo de Portland, Curtis Daily, a Granville Island. Allí había un festival latinoamericano con un lindo altar dedicado al Día de los Muertos. También encontramos una mesa con libros usados en castellano.

For 10 dollars I bought a book that had a special relevance to me. I was astounded to find it. It was a book published by my Argentine poet/writer friend Rubén Derlis. It was one of his first books. He is now 87.

Pagué 10 dólares por un libro que tiene un muy especial significado. Es un librito publicado en 1963 por mi amigo poeta/escritor argentino Rubén Derlis que tiene 87 años.

Mathematically I find it extraordinary that I found his book. My connections with Derlis is that I lived in the Buenos Aires barrio of Coghlan where Derlis lives. His has written lots about it. And I have this lovely photograph of Derlis, my Rosemary, granddaughter Rebecca and his friend Ana sitting at the door of my former home on Melián 2770.

Para mí es extraordinario que encontré el libro. Derlis vive y ama su barrio de Coghlan donde yo viví de niño. En la fota allí están mi Rosemary, Rebecca mi nieta, Derlis y su amiga Ana sentados en el portón de mi casa de niño en Melián 2770.

Derlis liked to tell me that he looked very much like Stalin.

Derlis a menudo me decía que se parecía a Stalin.