Have you ever had one of those experiences where everything fell into place like precision clockwork?  A time when you can look back and realize what just happened could only be classified as amazing . . . a miracle.  That happened to me this weekend with my friend Mary Lou Carney during our annual girlfriend weekend adventure. 

We spent two glorious days in Victoria, BC and planned to catch the last ferry back to Port Angeles at 7:30 p.m.  We arrived at 7 in plenty of time and sure enough the ferry was at the dock.  What we didn't know was that earlier in the day the ferry had experienced mechanical difficulties and this was the 3 p.m. sailing. 

Are you with me?  Now listen to this.

1.  If Mary Lou had decided to use the loo at the hotel instead of waiting until the terminal, we would have missed the ferry.

2.  If we'd walked the two blocks to the terminal instead of taking a taxi, we would have missed the ferry.

3.  If the taxi driver had pretended not to hear the policeman who claimed the traffic was too heavy and he couldn't take us down the street to the terminal, we would have missed the ferry.

4.  If I hadn't heard a woman pleading with the purser to kindly wait 5 additional minutes because her friend was right behind her, we would have missed the ferry.

Mary Lou and I were the last two people on board and my heart was pounding.  If we had missed the ferry we wouldn't have gotten back to Port Orchard in time for Mary Lou to make her flight home at 6 a.m.

Yup, God watches out for mad dogs, Englishmen and writers.