'Corners' happen constantly... we just sort out those special ones that make the crucial difference.

I have.. as we all do... dozens of stories, some major, some merely interesting, that fit that "what if it hadn't happened" concept. Sometimes there are a dozen links in each story leading to the event or situation that we focus on.

I signed up for a job with a 'temp' agency to make some needed money fast. One day they sent me to a store where I was asked to sort & clean out some stuff. They liked me and asked me to become a permanent employee. I stayed 3 years, and met some people who steered me on to better things, where I met more people who offered me a job in the Wash DC area, where I had an experience similar to the one Michael describes. I went to a folk sing and met a woman and dated her for a few months until she decided to 'move on', but introduced me to her friend...and 35 years later I am still married to the love of my life.... and her story of how SHE happened to be there would be just as fascinating.

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This basic phenomenon is described by Stephen J. Gould as contingency, and is considered to be an important concept in understanding the entire history of life.............not nearly as interesting for most as their own personal stories.