Day of Disasters
Actually, it was 3 near-disasters. But that headline isn’t as catchy.
Here’s a report from “Disaster Dave,” a traveling performer who only tells me tales involving trouble; so he asks to remain anonymous.
Two minutes into a rare chance for a long, relaxing bath, RIIIIINGGGG!!!! It’s the motel manager, “You’re flooding the restaurant underneath your room!” The long soak turns into a quick splash under the armpits (probably a disaster for the people encountering Dave later). Dave says, “I think a waterfall in the restaurant would have added atmosphere.”
After dodging Amish buggies (yes, Amish buggies) on a twisty, hilly, narrow road, he arrives at the festival where he’s performing. While running the mobile unit his puppet “drives,” it starts to rain. The splattered windshield and gray light don’t help when he must attempt a tight U-turn on a hillside path. Strewn, lumpy hay vaguely defines the sloping edge. As his tight turn treds the edge of the hay, one pile directly ahead looks just a little odd. It disguises a sharp drop that would have launched the mobile unit tumbling down the hill.
Later, charging the mobile unit’s batteries unexpectedly electrifies Dave’s nerves. To reach the charger in his trailer/stage, he must slowly push the mobile’s nose between his trailer/stage and a shiny black pickup. The mobile has a manageable 8 inches clearance on either side. But it suddenly decides to roll forward unguided! He wedges his body between the pickup and the mobile and prays fast, something eloquent like, “Help, help, help!” The mobile rolls another foot before deciding he’s been scared enough.
As the day ends, it’s fright time again. His truck lights have been on all day! He must have turned them on when testing for his truck’s latest trick, blowing fuses. But another minor miracle: The truck starts immediately.
“Thank you, God,” Dave says. “I’ve had my share of mishaps in the past, but this is my second near-disaster day in a week, at a time when I’ve been exploring what it means to have a closer relationship with Jesus. When enough coincidences happen, there’s reason to suspect intervention, not coincidence.” This brings up some interesting questions, but not now.
Note to new readers: You have not been lured into an evangelical trap. Most entries skitter between silliness and soaring secular societal insights. But I promised the whole picture of life on the road; so Dave’s story has some spiritual stuff.
