How
often do you wonder about the strange things?
A
few weeks ago, for whatever reason, the movie Sonic the Hedgehog
was on my mind. I think it had something to do with the sequel
being released, but right now I have absolutely no clue why it
happened to be rattling around in my thoughts.
As
the afternoon moved along, the movie just kind of hung around.
Every few minutes or so something would trigger a reminder. Imagine
a three-year-old you’ve promised some candy at five o’clock. It’s
only noon now, but they don’t know what time it is or how far
away five is. They just keep asking the same question every minute
for five hours: “Now?” Over and over and over (and over and over)
again. That was my Sonic the Hedgehog thought pestering
me on that day.
I
finally decided that maybe I’d just watch the movie that evening.
Seemed like a bit of mindless fun that would be an ok way to spend
a couple of hours. So, I looked for it. And I couldn’t find it.
None of the places I have available was offering it. None of them.
Oh well, maybe some other time.
An
hour or so later I was navigating the DirecTV menu and there it
was. In about a half-hour it was starting on a station that happened
to be in the middle of a free preview weekend.
There
was no reason for me to stumble across it like that. None. And,
most people would understand it as coincidence. That’s it. Just
a happy accident that connected.
(By
the way, it was pretty good. Funny and goofy and silly and mindless.
Enjoyed it.)
A
few months ago, the tracheotomy episode of M*A*S*H was
on my mind. Woke up the next morning, flipped on the television
and found a M*A*S*H rerun, which by this point you understand
happened to be the episode with Father Mulcahy performing the
procedure.
There
are certain moments when we all think – or at least want to think
– something else is going on. The wackiness… the randomness… is
just too odd to attach to anything else other than a response
to some external design we don’t control.
In
general, I tend to keep my beliefs in faith-based areas to myself.
That said, I will offer up that the programming decisions for
television shows and movies seems just a little bit outside the
areas where I would expect time and efforts from higher powers
to be invested. But who am I to say? As we all know, the only
ones that can answer questions about what happens in an afterlife
aren’t available to provide reliable details. You know, faith-based,
not definitive-based.
You’d
think if anyone was listening in on my hopes and wishes, they’d
do better than Sonic the Hedgehog. You know, maybe a
winning lottery combination as just one example coming to mind.
(Again, movie was good. But a winning lottery ticket and I could
go out and buy the movie for viewing whenever and as often as
I’d like. That would be an efficient approach where the rewarding
of one wish results in the granting of many. I’m just trying to
streamline the process and make it better for everyone.)
Birthday
candles and shooting stars. Make a wish. Don’t tell anyone or
it won’t come true.
Thinking
about chocolate cake. Wanting chocolate cake. Arriving at home,
open the door, and discover you hadn’t spoken to all day someone
made a chocolate cake.
And
sometimes, a random movie that comes to mind with no real prompting
or connections to current events at all shows up later in the
day.
Coincidence?
Yeah. That’s it. Coincidence.
(Now
if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to look for some cake and then
see what’s on TV.)