Coincidences?

I was going to write a blog post about our weekend adventure on the city bus.  Then, tonight, the news came in that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. troops. 

So, instead of the city bus, I thought I would write about some of the most strange coincidences in my life.  Just give me a minute and you'll see why this is appropriate to do now.

 #1

April 1992

I was in 7th grade.  My family had spent the week in San Diego for spring break.  As we drove home, when we were about 40 minutes from our house, I asked my parents what they would do if our house had been broken into.  I had never wondered this or asked about something like this before.  They answered that they would call the police.

40 minutes later we got home.  What did we find?  A broken into, burglarized home.

Coincidence?

 #2

March 17, 2003

Michael and I were living in Greeley, CO while I attended graduate school.  On this day, March 17, I quite randomly mentioned to Michael that you never heard about that Elizabeth Smart girl anymore.  I said it was strange that she had been all over the news when she was first kidnapped, but lately there was nothing.

The next day, March 18th, Elizabeth Smart was found.

Coincidence?

#3

August/September, 1997

Princess Diana died on August 31st.  The media storm that followed was insane.  I mentioned to Michael, on September 3rd,  that it was really kind of ridiculous and that if Mother Teresa died she wouldn't get nearly as much media attention.  Two days later.....September 5th (MY BIRTHDAY), Mother Teresa died.

Coincidence?

#4
September 10, 2001

Go ahead.  Look at that date again. It's important. I had just turned 22 the week before.  I was working at the AZ Senate.  It was still interim (i.e. not session), which means the staff is terribly bored and long lunches are the norm.  James and I sat in the conference room eating our lunches.  I had a ham sandwich.  We talked and talked and talked. 

Somehow the conversation turned to terrorism and we talked about Timothy McVeigh (he had been exectued the previous June).  I said that while he was terrible and deserved the death penalty, the person that worried me the most was this Osama bin Laden guy.  I asked James if he had ever heard of him or read anything about him.  Then I told James all about this Time article I had read about Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.  I think I referred to them as really bad dudes and that they needed to be brought down with a quickness.

Coincidence?

#4 continued
September 11, 2001

I got up at about 6 am and started getting ready for work.  I used to ALWAYS watch the news while getting ready.  This particular morning I woke up and thought, "you know, the news is always the same.  Nothing happens and it's all blah, blah, blah.  Maybe today I'll listen to some music." 

I listened to one song and then said to myself, "I can't do it.  I have to watch the news.  If I don't then today will be the one day that there's some sort of terrorist bombing and I'll be the only one who doesn't know about it."

Coincidence?

There are other examples too.  Most are pretty boring and "mild".  But, I will tell you, that sometimes I think something and then I force the thought out of my head and I refuse to verbalize it.
Just in case.