How A Drowning Boy Paid It Forward 9 Years Later For His Rescuer's Family
The universe works in strange and wonderful ways. Like when you've been thinking about a friend that you haven't seen in ages and out of the blue, you cross paths. Call it serendipity, call it a happy coincidence, call it awesome. We all experience those occasional twists of fate, but what happened to a trio of strangers in Salem, Massachusetts back in the 1960s as described in the book "The World's Most Incredible Stories" is next-level coincidence, perhaps a coincidence for the ages.
The unusual events that unfolded began during a hot summer in 1965. Roger Lausier, 4, was playing in the sand and building sandcastles when he wandered away and wound up in the water (via Weebly). It wasn't long before young Roger was caught in a strong undercurrent and in a world of trouble. By chance, a stranger saw him struggling and dove in to help, saving Roger's life. Her name was Alice Blaise.
Were it not for Blaise's quick reaction, Roger's story might have ended there. But Lausier would go on to live his life and it wouldn't be long until the paths of the drowning child and the woman who saved him would cross again.
Another near drowning and the unexpected hero
By the time he was 13 years old, some nine years after a stranger rescued him from near-certain drowning, Roger Lausier had grown to be a strong swimmer. According to "The World's Most Incredible Stories," one day, while tracking a school of fish he heard a woman scream.
"My husband is drowning, my husband is drowning," the woman yelled. Lausier jumped into action. He paddled his inflatable raft over to where the man was struggling in the water and managed to hang on to him and keep him from going under until help arrived.
At the time, Roger had no idea who the man and woman were. Even at the hospital, when the woman kissed him and thanked him for saving her husband, their uncanny connection still wasn't clear, according to "The World's Most Incredible Stories." But a short time later, Roger would learn about the cosmic connection the trio shared.
A surprise connection discovered
At a presentation to honor him, Roger Lausier finally learned just who he'd saved. The man was Bob Blaise and his wife, Alice Blaise, had saved Roger from drowning at the same beach in Salem nine years earlier, according to "The World's Most Incredible Stories." The cosmos had finally revealed their shared fates.
A somewhat similar occurrence happened in China in August of 2018, according to Newsweek. Despite being 80 years old and recovering from injuries from a fall, Xu Weifang risked his own life to rescue an 8-year-old boy from drowning. Xu said he heard the boy's screams coming from the river near his home in the Jiangsu province. Weifang's wife, Wu Xiaomei, also helped.
Xu later realized that he'd saved the boy's father some 30 years earlier. According to Newsweek, the couple has saved at least four people from that same river. In a world filled with surprise, these lucky coincidences could not have been more welcome.