The horse of coincidence / synchronicity may be in
slightly better health than the various
equos ad necem residing in the C&P stables ... so here goes:
the phenomena for me takes the form of a little game I try to play - which is catching the coincidence of the day ... it's often a word or phrase or something that makes me say "I've never seen that before." - the first time I noticed it as "a thing" was with the phrase "pernicious anemia" but it could be something else, just something unusual in an otherwise ho-him day ... not necessarily a big thing, just enough to stand out from the background and the coincidence comes
the next day ... there's a certain, for want of a better word, "texture" to the incidents in that there is a little crackle of enhanced emotion or excitement around it and in that they have a family resemblance to one another. The other thing is that, no matter how intent I am on watching for these coincidences I never can catch them, I never mention or think about the unusual event until I am surprised by a co-inciding event the next day ... in fact, when I discuss a strange event or think it over in a very intentional way, there has not been a coinciding event ... which may be why they aren't usually really big events - big enough in contrast to the day that it would be something you
might mention but not big enough that you'd definitely remember and discuss ... and yes, I see all the psychological explanations, etc. etc. so please stand back and let the horse have some air.
So your story is the co-inciding event for this event that happened to me yesterday:
The locksmith is a frequent visitor to our library as the building is aging - I've known him for years and he's helped me where I work, with my car and house too ... he usually doesn't make small talk but is friendly, one of those people who have an easy acquaintance - yesterday he was chattier than usual and mentioned going to see family in Idaho that he'd not seen in years. As he was writing the ticket and getting ready to leave, he told me a very tangential story (we'd been talking about jumping off bridges right before that) about the last time he was there - he stopped at the same hotel as the last time before he's been in Idaho (about a decade prior to that) at two in the morning and as he was talking to the clerk, a man was coming down to get ice and overheard him and said "you look familiar, where are you from?" the locksmith laughed and told him and the man said "that's where I'm from!" and the locksmith said "you wouldn't know me unless you ever needed a locksmith" and the man said "that's it! you unlocked my house for me one time" ...
so all the hallmarks of the phenomena for me are there ... and once again, I didn't even think about the event or mention it until just now when I read your post.
Submitted for your approval ...
... in the Synchronous Zone