Caleb believes everything — everything — is connected. No matter what.

So when I met him and Jacob on the boardwalk, I wondered: were these men here to tell me something? My knee is fraying. There’s a hole in it now, bone on bone. Pickleball is out. Deep squats — out. Riding my bike hard — out.

Last November, I took a tumble down the stairs at my new place. Socks. Wooden stairs. No lights. You get the picture.

Jacob’s learned the same lesson over and over and over again. Everything works out. No matter what. He failed at his last job because he didn’t listen to his body. Worked out when he shouldn’t have. Now, he can’t fly helicopters anymore. He told his wife how much he hated the feeling of failing.

But now? He controls unmanned vehicles with Caleb. And loves it.

Learning the same lesson repeatedly hit home for me too. Sometimes I wonder how many times I have to learn the same thing??

I told Caleb: “I need your number. I want to text you and ask, ‘Are you sure everything — everything is connected?’ when things just don’t make sense.”

He laughed. “It’ll make sense in the end.”