The Man with The Watch:

Being a bartender near the Port of Seattle, John Bixby had experienced his fair share of strange occurrences. From bar fights between groups of drunk men, to members of the church that weren’t too proud of their actions the day after, this man figured he had seen it all. But nothing can compare to that one night in January, that changed his life forever.

The 15th was a very cold and windy day, which was never unusual for someone who worked next to the water at the Bayleaf Bar and Grille. It was a very steady day, not too crowded but just enough people to stay busy. Around 11:45 John began his normal closing time procedures. Wiping down the counters John could hear the sound of the trees rustling in the strong wind. Feeling like no one was going to enter the bar anymore, he began to walk toward the back to start washing dishes. Halfway to the sink, John stopped. Something was different. The sound of the trees had suddenly stopped as though the wind had ceased to blow. Then there was the familiar sound of the bell, signaling that someone had opened the door to the bar. John made his way back to the counter to greet the new patron.

The man, dressed mainly in a jacket and pants, walked up the counter and took a seat in one of the stools. As he does with most of the customers that enter the bar, John looked the man over. He had a short, stoutly, brown beard, and on his wrist he wore a large gold plated watch. But there was something odd about the watch, the hands did not seem to move. Shrugging this off as just a broken watch, John greets the man with a kind smile and asks what he can get him. The man looks up into John’s eyes and asks for a water. John was not sure, but when he looked into the eyes of that man, he could’ve swore he saw something in them he'd seen before. The man looks back down and John gets the water, feeling as if he had just broken out of a spell.

John hands the man his water, and the man says to John, in a most soft and kind way, the very few words that he’ll never forget. “John, what are you doing here? You had so much potential, I was sure that you would be out making a difference. But you gave up when times got tough, you let your guard down son and shut out the world. That is not what I had planned for you.” Astonished at the fact that this man knew his name and how he felt about his life after leaving medical school, John stood in place with his mouth agape and eyes non-blinking. The man drank the glass of water given to him, stood up, and made toward the door. Flooded with questions, but only able to ask one, John yelled after the man. “What am I to do?”. The man stopped, and in a loud and booming voice that still seemed to sooth John, responded, “You already know the answer to that question, it’s now just a matter of determination and trust. Thrusting yourself out there and having the faith that someone will catch you.” The bell rang again, the man walked out. It seemed as if, as soon as the door closed, the familiar sounds of the trees rustling in the wind began to fill his ears once more.

Moved by what this man said, John resigned from his job at the Bayleaf Bar and Grille, and returned to medical school. Years later he now saves lives and is considered one of the best doctors in all of Washington state. When asked in an interview how he became so successful, his answer was soft and kind, “It’s just a matter of determination and trust. Thrusting yourself out there and having the faith that someone will catch you.”