A Strange Day

Five miles from my workplace, the alternator of my '93 Nissan Sentra died. The speedometer plunged to zero while the car continued for another two miles along the expressway. I flashed on the emergency lights and hitched my way to plant along with my lap top. My wife thinks that I'm sometimes far too jaded, but this time I was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of a stranger-- a woman in a pickup who dropped me off at the front gate. I called the police to alert them that I had temporarily abandoned my car and called for a tow truck. I spent the rest of the day working on the lap top from home, while outside it thundered and rained sometimes heavily. This rather mild annoyance was put into perspective when an e-mail was sent to the department mentioning that someone on the floor had killed himself, leaving behind his wife and two small children and a mortgage.

I don't know quite what to make of today other than to simply record the facts. I think we have to find our own path, no matter what challenges face us. A headline mentioned that a candidate for the presidency had found that his wife's cancer had returned. John Edwards plans to continue to run for the presidency. I'm not sure that's the choice I would make, but it is a choice that John and Elizabeth have made and perhaps that is the better and braver choice. It could be that it is these challenges-- the death of their son and now what appears to be terminal cancer-- is exactly what John feels he needs to focus his life-- find meaning in his life-- to make a difference for the country on behalf of his family and the woman he loves.