Ever Wonder?

Have you ever seen the Disney movie Hercules? For awhile back in the late 90's it was my kid's favorite movie and I think we watched it daily. In the movie there are The 3 Fates, (sisters who in typical Disney style are old crones in the vein of the evil Queen in Snow White or Cruella de Vil), the Fates determine when a mortal will die and share 1 eye which they use to see into the future. I remember reading about the Greek Fates back in high school English class and was intrigued about someone having control over my destiny. Every day I read in the news about random violence, health problems and freakish accidents and I wonder, "Does it make any difference if I lead a good life, stay healthy, be cautious and see my doctor? Will The Fates cut my life cord or will bad luck, wrong place-wrong time or some psychopath do it for them?"
Last year there was a horrific crime in the county where my parents live in Florida. Truly anyone's worst nightmare come to life. A beautiful young mother and wife, abducted from her home in the middle of the day, driven around while she screamed in the car, witnessed by people who called 911, then raped and killed and tossed in a shallow grave. Nothing saved her, not her pleading on the phone to a 911 operator while she was in the abductor's car, not the clues she left behind like the ring she stuck under the seat with pieces of her hair for DNA, not her police man father who was searching for her, not the pleas of her husband. Her life cord was cut. After reading this week about the trial of her killer, who the authorities found after his own family called in to report he had kidnapped the young woman, Fate has been on my mind. It keeps me up at night. Wondering, worrying...Sure another tragic story will pop up in the headlines soon enough and the cycle of Fate or wrong place-wrong time will happen again. I guess it's what you do with your life that matters in the end. I'll continue to eat well, love, learn, travel, explore, share, give, and be cautious and hope that the old crones or some psychopath don't cut my life cord. And I'll remember that young woman in Florida and take comfort in the meaning her short life is having long after her cord was cut.

Guardian Angels

After a lovely girls night on Friday I loaded the beagle in the car on Saturday morning and headed to Michigan for the long weekend. While on the Indiana Toll Road I hit some metal debris and my right rear tire was history. As I tried to find a safe spot on the side of the road I passed about half a dozen stranded cars who had also hit the debris and finally pulled in front of a huge semi tractor who had his emergency cones out. After a wasted call to Triple A I was going to attempt to change my own tire when the truck driver behind me walked up and asked me if I had a spare. When I showed him my jack and spare he changed my tire and gave me directions to the nearest TA truck stop to have it fixed. Daniel, the trucker from Nebraska, thank you. Not a lot of people would have helped me, I hope your lunch was good and the beer was cold.

That is the 2nd time a trucker has saved me from what could have been a disastrous situation. At 19 I was driving around Ohio looking at colleges when my engine started on fire late at night while driving in the middle of nowhere in a thunderstorm. I left the car on the side of the road and started hitchhiking because all I was thinking was to get to a public place. A trucker driving an empty car transporter pulled over and offered me a ride. There was no front passenger seat so he threw down a suitcase and gave me a towel to dry off. He took me to the nearest truck stop with a "Good luck little lady" and he was off. So to both my trucker Guardian Angels, thank you for being in the right place at the right time.