Chaos Theory as an object lesson

Perks

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Boy, am I morose today. I nearly killed a child this morning and I'm a bit preoccupied over the randomness of the universe.

The school run fell to me today and one of my ten-year-old daughter's little friends was at the drop-off zone for the morning unload. The school recruits students to serve as 'safety patrols', but they're more or less curb valets. I was teasing this girl because she'd called the house last night at 9:30 and hung up on me when I answered. She has a habit of calling late and I think she didn't realize what time it was and tried to duck out on the call when she heard me answer, completely forgetting about caller ID.

So I gave her a hard time and we had a little laugh and she told me to have a nice day and closed the door. As I was pulling away, I don't know what sparked me to check the mirrors. Perhaps something in my peripheral vision drew my eye. At any rate, right above the 'Objects in mirror are closer than they appear' warning was Olgita, all terrified face and hands clutching at the orange safety vest that she'd somehow managed to close into the back door of my car. I'd already pulled her off the curb and she was stumbling to keep pace with me.

If I'd given it a little more gas, she would have fallen. I could have dragged her or run over her and she and I'd be in The Citizen-Times already, headline news.

All's well. She walked away smiling, and only a little trembly. I had a stomachache until mid-morning. Of course, I'll soon forget this fright and life will roll right on, but right now I'm acutely aware that sometimes it all goes toes up for no reason at all.

Be good to each other.
 
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Williebee

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Sometimes the blessings in the day are not so small.

Breathe. You did good, and a small child got an important life lesson, without even a bandaid. :)
 

Ambrosia

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Perks, I am so glad you saw her in time to stop and she wasn't hurt. Very scary stuff. Such events do leave a person to ponder life. I hope you will be good to you. Do something relaxing and fun. Yes it could have been a disaster, but it wasn't. It is ok.:Hug2:
 

madderblue

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Oh sweety, I know you feel so awful. And relieved. And shocked. And pondering. Life is surreal. I'm so happy you looked in the mirror, too.

terrie
 

shokadh

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Miracles do happen
 

Perks

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It's funny about kids. I was a leaden wreck for a while this morning, but my daughter reported that Olgita was her smiley normal, cheerful, self. Didn't even talk about it, just put it straight out of her mind.
 

TheIT

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Kids tend to think they're immortal. ;)

((hugs)) on the close call. Amazing how the world can change in just a few seconds. Take it easy.
 

Silver King

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Man oh man, thank goodness you noticed her caught in the car door before something awful happened. It's unsettling to think that such a simple matter like dropping someone off at school could lead to utter disaster moments later.

I worry about stuff like that happening, random and unexpected and deadly, especially when children are involved. There's simply nothing we can take for granted in life. Nothing.
 

Beach Bunny

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:Hug2: It's always like that, isn't it. A close call and then your mind conjures up all of these dreadful what might have happened if you hadn't done whatever it was you did to avoid the disaster. :Hug2:
 

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I hate to steal the miracle thing away for a second, but I see this as you being a good driver. You probably don't realize that you do things like checking mirrors and all because you do it unconciously. There's also a sense you develop if you're a good driver, I think you have that.
 

regdog

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Thank goodness everything is okay
 

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I hate to steal the miracle thing away for a second, but I see this as you being a good driver. You probably don't realize that you do things like checking mirrors and all because you do it unconciously. There's also a sense you develop if you're a good driver, I think you have that.

Thanks Wayne, though I'm not tagging it a miracle by any means. In fact, anything but. And that's the thing of it - yesterday, it so happened that my eyes were faster than my foot and just for that bit of randomness, a child walked away without injury.

Like I said, I imagine the corner of my eye caught her in the mirror or something, but it was such a horrible accident in the making that, for want of a split second, both of our lives could have been changed forever. It's so crazy.

As for the rest, yes, I'm an excellent driver and Wapner comes on at four.
 

shokadh

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Thanks Wayne, though I'm not tagging it a miracle by any means. In fact, anything but. And that's the thing of it - yesterday, it so happened that my eyes were faster than my foot and just for that bit of randomness, a child walked away without injury.

Like I said, I imagine the corner of my eye caught her in the mirror or something, but it was such a horrible accident in the making that, for want of a split second, both of our lives could have been changed forever. It's so crazy.

As for the rest, yes, I'm an excellent driver and Wapner comes on at four.

So if this wasn't a miracle and was just good reaction, then what would have constituted a miracle--the girl getting drug beneath the car and surviving without a scratch? Personally, I think angels do watch over and protect us, giving us little nudges to react or look up or notice something potentially disastrous. I have had many near-misses in my life that I can not attribute to my great awareness or ability but only to my extreme stupidity. (Sad to say, I have been saved from myself on more than one occasion!) Regardless of how you see the near-tragedy that occurred, I am thankful to someone/something watching over both you and her that let you both walk away unscathed. (But that's just me)
 

Devil Ledbetter

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So if this wasn't a miracle and was just good reaction, then what would have constituted a miracle--the girl getting drug beneath the car and surviving without a scratch? Personally, I think angels do watch over and protect us, giving us little nudges to react or look up or notice something potentially disastrous. I have had many near-misses in my life that I can not attribute to my great awareness or ability but only to my extreme stupidity. (Sad to say, I have been saved from myself on more than one occasion!) Regardless of how you see the near-tragedy that occurred, I am thankful to someone/something watching over both you and her that let you both walk away unscathed. (But that's just me)
But this would mean the angels don't care about those who do fall prey to mishaps. I don't mean to be argumentative, I've just been thinking about this sort of luck/no luck a lot since a terrible accident (gasoline explosion) seriously injured a young co-worker/friend of mine last week. He lived, but is in excruciating pain with severe burns over 25% of his body including both of his hands. He's been undergoing surgical debridement. It's heartbreaking.

And Perks, I'm so glad it was only a near miss for you this morning. I once started to pull away from the curb thinking all of the kids were loaded in the car. My youngest was only halfway in. Luckily, I'd only moved the car about a foot before I realized what was happening. It made me sick thinking about what could have happened.
 

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So if this wasn't a miracle and was just good reaction, then what would have constituted a miracle--the girl getting drug beneath the car and surviving without a scratch? Personally, I think angels do watch over and protect us, giving us little nudges to react or look up or notice something potentially disastrous. I have had many near-misses in my life that I can not attribute to my great awareness or ability but only to my extreme stupidity. (Sad to say, I have been saved from myself on more than one occasion!) Regardless of how you see the near-tragedy that occurred, I am thankful to someone/something watching over both you and her that let you both walk away unscathed. (But that's just me)
I'm not taking credit for any reaction I may have had. In fact, that's what rattled me was the margin of chance that ruled the day. 'Miraculous' and 'supernatural' are, to me, temporary tags for cascades of physics that we don't fully understand. That doesn't preclude divine intervention, necessarily. If it exists, it's perfectly natural and in concert with the faculties we possess. And it is indeed frustratingly mysterious ways.

The short answer is, I don't know. I'm uncomfortable with the term 'miracle', but that's a complex personal reaction that's developed in me over a long while.

As far as the 'excellent driver' quip, I was just teasing Wayne, not gilding my fantastic reflexes.
 

shokadh

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But this would mean the angels don't care about those who do fall prey to mishaps. I don't mean to be argumentative, I've just been thinking about this sort of luck/no luck a lot since a terrible accident (gasoline explosion) seriously injured a young co-worker/friend of mine last week. He lived, but is in excruciating pain with severe burns over 25% of his body including both of his hands. He's been undergoing surgical debridement. It's heartbreaking.

And Perks, I'm so glad it was only a near miss for you this morning. I once started to pull away from the curb thinking all of the kids were loaded in the car. My youngest was only halfway in. Luckily, I'd only moved the car about a foot before I realized what was happening. It made me sick thinking about what could have happened.

Believing in angels and miracles doesn't necessarily negate the possibility of tragedy occurring elsewhere in the world, in my mind. It's just that when a miracle does occur, I am thankful for that intervention at that moment. (The dichotomy of why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people will start a different thread, I imagine)
 

shokadh

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I've just been thinking about this sort of luck/no luck a lot since a terrible accident (gasoline explosion) seriously injured a young co-worker/friend of mine last week. He lived, but is in excruciating pain with severe burns over 25% of his body including both of his hands. He's been undergoing surgical debridement. It's heartbreaking.

Oh, and speaking of miracles, my brother threw an aerosol can into the fire when he was in high school, it exploded in his face and he was burned in the same manner. Polyester shirt melted to his skin on the upper portion of his chest, face and hands swelled beyond recognition, etc. He not only recovered, but had no scarring whatsoever. (I guess that's one reason why I believe in miracles)
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Believing in angels and miracles doesn't necessarily negate the possibility of tragedy occurring elsewhere in the world, in my mind. It's just that when a miracle does occur, I am thankful for that intervention at that moment. (The dichotomy of why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people will start a different thread, I imagine)
If these "interventions" exist then it is only fair to wonder why they're withheld from people who surely deserve them.

It's easier for me to believe they don't exist at all. My friend is suffering horribly because of a random accident, not because angels who could have easily prevented it chose to withhold their assistance.
 

shokadh

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If these "interventions" exist then it is only fair to wonder why they're withheld from people who surely deserve them.

It's easier for me to believe they don't exist at all. My friend is suffering horribly because of a random accident, not because angels who could have easily prevented it chose to withhold their assistance.

I am sorry to hear about your friend.