Yesterday something happened that was akin to the intervention of ghosts of Xmas future and present all in one little 5 mile car trip. A few almost normal little things happened that changed the world, at least for some and certainly for me.

Right before they happened I heard my conscious rational mind justify my actions.

The first one:
Driving down Aspen Hill a car was parked beyond the painted stripe at the corner which made a tight spot but not bad. I thought if I honk maybe the people will hear it in the house and give them pause about their car. Far fetched as that reasoning is I honked the big ol buick horn which I almost never do. Just then a guy that was running between parked cars looked up and caught his full momentum by grabbing onto the parked cars and barely stopped as I drove past. Neither of us saw the other but the horn saved his life and the rest of us for years of remorse and grief.

The second:
When I picked up my wife she reported that she had a good day and that everything went right including getting promotions for the people that have deserved them and perfect performances at an important presentation by even the most unlikely people.
THis might not seem like mush to you but my wife has not reporteed having a good day at work in ten years.

The third:
A family joke of pulling into a stranger's driveway and declaring were here for dinner was in play. The people on the corner who happen to have the same address number as we do were pulling into their driveway. I put on our trun signal and feigned a turn into their driveway. 100 feet later when I began to pull into our driveway a car ahead of us pulled into our driveway. I just parked on the street and we had an NPR moment as we listened to a brass ensemble doing a great Christmas carol. When I opened the car door the same music continued in the same key and tempo but it was a music box that played bells that I had put in the back yard.

Hearing the Xmas carol continue on unabated made me put together the trip and the tiny miracles that happened on that short little trip.

If my dad were still around he might say as he often did, "you listen to your bells and I'll listen to mine."