We've all heard of stories in which an individual misses their flight and then later learns the plane crashed or they were on the plane when they weren't supposed to be. Such situations -- covering all aspects of life -- tend to make us take pause. Sometimes by pure accident and at other times by what appear to be insignificant decisions, people escape or run headlong into tragic circumstances.
I bring this up because my wife and I encountered a situation just like this last night.
I drove to Aberdeen to pick up Della at around 7:00 p.m. She had been in Seattle for union meeting. The bus was running late and didn't arrive until 7:40 p.m. After doing some light grocery shopping, we prepared to head back through the Willapa Hills to South Bend.
The initial plan was for me to drive. However, my ailing right shoulder has really been bothering me and I asked Della if she would do the honors instead. So, Della was behind the wheel as we headed into the misty fog.
There's one section of Highway 101 that, after coming out of a curve, has a lot of trees that hang over the road. At night, it's particularly dark in this one short stretch. As we were humming along at 55 mph, we came out of the curve and right in front of us in our lane was a huge dead deer or elk. Della masterfully swung around it without hardly breaking stride.
We were both shaken because we each agreed that, had I been driving, the chances are great that we would have hit the deer and most likely wrecked. While I tend to be a very safe driver, there is no question that my reflexes are slower than the average person. I see things like most other folks, but my autistic brain needs a few seconds to find its bearings.
In this situation, those few seconds weren't available. Consequently, by the time my brain computed the danger, we would have already hit the obstruction and been sent careening off the road at a high rate of speed. Who knows what would have happened at that point?
If I was a religious person, I would probably believe that God had been watching out for us. I might well think that he CAUSED my shoulder to hurt more and that he CAUSED Della to agree to drive.
Of course, I don't believe in a god, so I don't think there is any kind of supernatural explanation. So, what's my explanation as to why this situation didn't turn out so badly? Coincidence. Luck. Nothing more and nothing less.
I bring this up because my wife and I encountered a situation just like this last night.
I drove to Aberdeen to pick up Della at around 7:00 p.m. She had been in Seattle for union meeting. The bus was running late and didn't arrive until 7:40 p.m. After doing some light grocery shopping, we prepared to head back through the Willapa Hills to South Bend.
The initial plan was for me to drive. However, my ailing right shoulder has really been bothering me and I asked Della if she would do the honors instead. So, Della was behind the wheel as we headed into the misty fog.
There's one section of Highway 101 that, after coming out of a curve, has a lot of trees that hang over the road. At night, it's particularly dark in this one short stretch. As we were humming along at 55 mph, we came out of the curve and right in front of us in our lane was a huge dead deer or elk. Della masterfully swung around it without hardly breaking stride.
We were both shaken because we each agreed that, had I been driving, the chances are great that we would have hit the deer and most likely wrecked. While I tend to be a very safe driver, there is no question that my reflexes are slower than the average person. I see things like most other folks, but my autistic brain needs a few seconds to find its bearings.
In this situation, those few seconds weren't available. Consequently, by the time my brain computed the danger, we would have already hit the obstruction and been sent careening off the road at a high rate of speed. Who knows what would have happened at that point?
If I was a religious person, I would probably believe that God had been watching out for us. I might well think that he CAUSED my shoulder to hurt more and that he CAUSED Della to agree to drive.
Of course, I don't believe in a god, so I don't think there is any kind of supernatural explanation. So, what's my explanation as to why this situation didn't turn out so badly? Coincidence. Luck. Nothing more and nothing less.
Stuff happens. A few years ago i was driving home, driving about 50 mph when i spotted a big ladder across two lanes of traffic. I barely missed it. Eleven years prior the military compound i was staying in was bombed. The chair i was sitting in 30 minutes earlier got cut up with flying glass. I barely had a scratch. If i had done things a bit differently i wouldn't be writing this post.
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