Perspective. For some people, in order to believe a Guardian Angel was looking out for them–they need something major. Escaping the September 11 disaster by stopping at Dunkin Donuts. Forgetting their passport and not getting on the plane that crashed. Being horribly in debt and receiving an unexpected windfall of $10,000.
For one of my customers, it only took $5.30. In honor of her grandmother’s birthday, she chose to wear her grandmother’s necklace. She went to the bank, retrieved it from her safety deposit box, and wore it for a few days. It was the first time in a while she had worn the necklace.
That night, she went to pay a bill and was at Clark and Howard when she discovered she didn’t have her wallet. It was 10:00PM and she had no phone numbers (in the wallet), no ID–so she couldn’t write a check and get cash, no debit card, no credit card. She only had the change in her purse, which was not enough to get on the train. She was 30 cents short. She stood at the CTA machine, plunking in nickels and dimes and stared at it. $1.45 was the total and she needed $1.75. The CTA worker asked if she was short? She said she was and then the notourisly unhelpful, non-generous CTA person gave her the 30 cents. Now–cause people are always panhandling, nobody ever offers another person a nickel on the CTA–let alone enough money for a pass.
With $1.75 on her card, she hopped on the red line. As she was moving towards Belmont, her phone rang. On the other end was a friend she rarely hears from. That friend was on the same train. They both got off at Belmont. My customer explained her plight–no wallet, no money until she went back to work. The friend had just had her birthday and received some cold hard cash for her special day. Without asking for an IOU, the friend gave her $5 to get her to work the next day to retrieve her wallet.
She was convinced it was her grandmother–how else could she have gotten home, unharmed, at 10PM from Clark & Howard.
Sometimes our gaurdians act in small ways–it isn’t always a falling building, but is sometimes just a transfer.
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