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 Blog Inspirations 

Serendipity

Today the temperatures rose to 32 degrees and there was very little wind. We've been in the 20's and big winds. I was very happy at the prospect of going on a walk. I've been recovering from pneumonia and so have to be careful not to get too cold, or into too much wind.

After parking my car in the small medical center's lot on Herrick Road, I began my stroll down a winding pathway through the woods. Smells of pine and spruce. Chipmunks chirping. Chickadees calling.

The trail ends up near the Causeway tidal river bridge, one of my favorite nature spots. The tide had recently changed, flowing out to sea. The sky was blue with a light haze. Water below me a crystal clear green, with seaweed moving with the tide. Suddenly a duck with white chest emerged from the water's depths. Then disappeared again. I stood for a short while with my back turned against the breeze, freezing cold, too cold to stay there long.

Back at the parking lot, when I tried to back my car up, it wouldn't budge. Turns out one of the back wheels was frozen. It was a Sunday morning and so not much traffic on Herrick Road, which is a side road to begin with. So I started to walk home. I don't have a cell phone. Then a truck came along and I flagged him down. Turns out he lived right where I was standing, across the street and down some from my car. He let me use his phone in his real estate office. That was the first serendipitous moment.

Twenty minutes later a bright red truck turned into the medical center. Trouble was, the AAA relay person neglected to tell him I had a frozen wheel. He could not tow it with the truck he had. He had to go back and get his flatbed. I only lived a few blocks away and so he took me home. While we rode I found out he's an auto mechanic. I've been inactively seeking a new mechanic, unhappy with mine for quite a long time. I asked the AAA man if he would tow my car to his shop. I looks like I might have a new mechanic. That was the second serendipitous moment.

As we were exchanging addresses and phone numbers, he told me that just yesterday he'd towed a woman's Prius who was also unhappy with the same mechanic. The owner of the Prius turns out to be good friend of mine. She also decided to let the AAA man fix her car. That was the third serendipity. All in the space of an hour.

I'm not sure this is serendipity, but I decided not to purchase a Prius as my next car. Because when I called my friend to let her know my AAA experience, she said the same man has towed her car many times in the 10 years she's owned her Prius. This was the first time I've ever had my Honda towed, and I've had it since 2001.


We have but slumbered here while these visions did appear, no more yielding than a dream. --Shakespeare


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