A to Z: No Such Thing

There is no such thing as coincidence.

Yesterday morning, i did my usual Friday routine, up and out of the house before six so i could go to Bible study.  The moment it is over, i head out to get to my client for the day, and it's a rush to get there on time.

The rush is always made worse if there's an accident, and when i saw the flashing lights on the highway i knew i was in for it.  It turned out to be a good thing i was, however.

Past the accident and back on a smaller side street, i saw Stan, a special education teaching assistant at Little Girl's school who attends our Bible study when school is out, waiting on the side of the road for one of the always late and unreliable city buses.

There was no way i was leaving him on the side of the road.  He's over 70 and still working because he has to.  It turned out his car had broken down and he had taken the day off work to drop it with the mechanic.  Because his car was there, he had to take the buses (it takes more than one) back to his apartment.

Like us, he is living month to month, and it may be that his trip to see his son and grandchildren this summer will be interrupted by paying for the car.

After picking him up, i got to my client's house, gave Sweetie the tools he needed to get it started (he helps me with some of the larger houses now), and then drove Steve the rest of the way home.  It was only a couple of miles and a whole big world away.

If the accident hadn't delayed me, would i have seen him?  Probably not, and i wouldn't have found out where he lives, in a part of town where sometimes even the police are afraid to go.  Yes, that's a part of town only a couple of miles from large homes in gated communities like the kind i clean.

There are no coincidences.  Stan really needed the help, and i think he needed the piece of cake i happened to have from work that was with me to give to someone else.  (The someone else will get a piece next time.)  Also, i needed to know just how fragile his situation really is.

Today is:

Banyan Tree Birthday Party -- Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i (celebrating the "birthday" of Lahaina's most important landmark, their banyan tree planted back in 1973, which now covers over 2/3 of an acre; cake, nature displays, kid activities, history exhibits and more, through tomorrow)

California Poppy Festival -- Lancaster, CA, US (two fun days celebrating California's State Flower)

Cleaning for a Reason Week begins -- raising awareness of Cleaning For A Reason, which helps provide free residential cleaning to women fighting cancer 

Day of Mushroom Encouragement -- Fairy Calendar

Dronningens fodselsdag -- Denmark (Birthday of Queen Margrethe II)

Emancipation Day -- Washington, D.C., US

Georgia Renaissance Spring Festival -- Atlanta, GA, US (weekends through June 6)

Gio to Hung Vuong Day -- Vietnam (National Day; celebrating the founding of the nation by Emperor Hung Vuong some three millenia ago)

Hatsume Fair -- Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden, Delray Beach, FL, US (celebrating the culture and beauty of Japan; through tomorrow)

Holiday of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Husband Appreciation Day

Jim Thorpe Day -- US (by Presidential Proclamation in 1973)

John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tours -- Surrat House Museum, Clinton, MD, US (for Civil War history buffs, a 12 hour bus tour over the route used by Lincoln's assassin; every Saturday through Apr. 30)

National Auctioneers Day -- recognizing the contribution of auctioneers to American commerce

National Eggs Benedict Day

National Healthcare Decision Day -- US (to inspire, educate & empower the public & providers about the importance of advance care planning)

National Stress Awareness Day -- sponsored by the Health Resource Network (always on the first workday after paying taxes)

Offering to Demeter Khloe -- Ancient Greek Calendar (honoring Demeter as goddess of green shoots; date approximate)

Record Store Day -- celebrated by independent record stores everywhere, find one near you

Scottsdale Culinary Festival -- Scottsdale, AZ, US (40 restaurants, 30 craft breweries, 20 bands, chef demos, teen chef challenge and more, all to raise money for arts education in the community; through tomorrow)

Spinach Festival -- Alma, AR, US (celebrating one of my favorite greens with music, food, crafts, carnival and more)

St. Bernadette of Lourdes' Day (Patron of people ridiculed for their piety, poor people, shepherdesses, shepherds, sick people; Lourdes, France; against bodily ills, poverty, sickness)

St. Padarn's Day (Celtic peoples traditionally begin weeding crops on this saint's day)

Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day -- encouraging awareness of volunteerism, but the original sponsor of the day is no longer online

World Entrepreneurship Day

World Voice Day -- if you've ever had laryngitis, you know how important it is to protect your voice

Zhabdrung Kuchhoe -- Bhutan (death anniversary of Zhabdrung)


Anniversaries Today:

Harry Connick, Jr. marries Jill Goodare, 1994
Founding of the University of Queensland, 1910


Birthdays Today:

Lilliana Mumy, 1994
Lucas Haas, 1976
Selena Quintanilla, 1971
Martin Lawrence, 1965
Jon Cryer, 1965
Ellen Barkin, 1955
Jay O. Sanders, 1953
Kareem Adbud-Jabbar, 1947
Dusty Springfield, 1939
Bobby Vinton, 1935
Herbie Mann, 1930
Edie Adams, 1929
Pope Benedict XVI, 1927
Henry Mancini, 1924
Kingsley Amis, 1922
Peter Ustinov, 1921
Barry Nelson, 1920
Merce Cunningham, 1919
Charlie Chaplin, 1889
John Millington Synge, 1871
Wilbur Wright, 1867
Jose De Diego, 1866
Anatole France, 1844
John Franklin, 1786
Hans Sloane, 1660


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Brown Sugar"(Rolling Stones single release), 1971
"Fibber McGee and Molly"(Radio), 1935
"Mazeppa"(Symphonic poem, Liszt' S 100), 1854
"The Contrast"(Comedy), 1787 (First play by an American author, Royall Tyler, to be professionally produced on stage)


Today in History:

Calculated date of the return of Odysseus from the Trojan War, BC1178
The Jewish fortress of Masada falls to the Roman Army, ending the Jewish revolt, 73
Martin Luther is called before the Diet of Worms, 1521
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina, 1582
The United States Senate ratified the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada, 1880
The first passenger rail opens in India, 1853
Ebenezer Bassett, the first African-American diplomat, begins his service in Haiti, 1869 
US Marshal Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle, in Dodge City, 1881
Harriet Quimby becomes the first female pilot to cross the English Channel, 1912
Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British, 1919
Annie Oakley shoots a record 100 clay targets in a row, 1922
Dr. Albert Hofmann first ingests LSD, thus discovering its effects, 1943
Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, 1947
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation, 1963
The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean, 1992
The Queen Mary II embarks on her first transatlantic voyage, 2004
President of Côte d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo declares the First Ivorian Civil War to be over, 2007