My Grandmother was a Murphy

I first learned about the family's law, "Murphy's Law", when I was in flight training in Pensacola. It's a good one to keep in mind when you're traveling at 300 knots per hour 50' above the ground. Little things can cause big problems.

The law is also time sensitive. It always seems to kick in when time is of the essence, and it serves as a reminder that no matter how well we plan and prepare - shit happens. Marilynn and I are four days from lift-off to Vietnam. Not a lot of time to dally. She has work. I have work. We're leaving our condo and trying to anticipate all the things we need to do before we leave. We have to pack for an extended stay in Vietnam. Blah, blah, blah.

So, it was a little upsetting to discover my wallet missing when we arrived in Oakland on Wednesday. Drivers licence, 4 credit cards, and 2 health insurance cards - that's all. Nevermind that I didn't have picture ID for the trip back to Seattle on Thursday or a credit card to pay for the stay in the Bay Area. What I really didn't have was TIME to deal with it.

It was challenging. But, good karma kicked in. I called Alaska Airlines and reported the loss. I got a really nice young guy who empathized and who promised to call me back when he had some news. Surprise of surprises, he called back about an hour later to tell me they had found my wallet near the departure gate and it would be waiting for me when I got back in Thursday. It was a sketchy hour or two, but I was a happy camper when I got the news.

Everything worked out in the Bay Area. Marilynn paid for everything. We had one other moderately anxious moment when the wallet wasn't at Alaska's lost and found counter in Seattle. It had been sent to another off-airport facility and I had to wait until today to pick it up. Small price.

But, here's the kicker: Marilynn needed to do some quick shoe shopping for the trip, so we stopped downtown on our way home. Guess what? This morning she couldn't find her iPhone. You guessed it; gonzo. There are a lot of things to be said for good karma and a tech savvy assistant. Her assistant located the phone somehow, don't ask me how, within a 4 block area in the Nordstrom/Eileen Fisher grid. Then she sent a text message to the phone that would appear on the display when it was turned on. Amazing. I was on my way downtown when I got a call from the manager at Eileen Fisher telling me she had the phone. Incroyable!!

Karma vs. Murphy. Karma won this one.