Can You Manage Your Coincidences Yet? Or Miracles Still Do Occur
By Rev. Keith Smyth
My life has been a set of very strange “coincidences”. The first was an NDE when I was 14 years old, on my birthday that year (1949), actually. From then on, it seemed that they just kept on happening. In 1952, when I was a junior in high school, I drove my Model A Ford Coupe from Tribune KS, Wichita, KS, 300 miles. At one point, there is a pretty long hill on that road (K96), just outside of Selkirk KS, where my dad worked as a station agent for the Missouri Pacific railroad. I was just leaving the depot, when something pulled me over to the side of the highway (two lane), and I stopped. I could NOT figure out what had happened. Just about then two semi trucks came over the crest of the hill, side by side! I would have been just below that crest, doing about 50 mph, with no chance to pull over!
Another time, in Wichita, in 1954, after I had graduated, and looking for work, after I got laid off the railroad after 6 months and two stations, because my eyes did not meet their minimum standards without glasses. I was walking to my grandmothers when out of nowhere, and for absolutely no reason I can explain to this day, I stopped, turned around from the corner I was standing on, and walked back about 100 feet and stopped. Just then, a car ran a red light, was Tee-boned by another car, and smacked THROUGH the traffic light pole I had been standing by.
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Yep. Makes one wonder.
In the Air Force I had several really good ones, one day at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Miss, I was in a hanger that housed a height-finding radar school. I had been sent over by the director of our department to deliver some test equipment that our department had borrowed from them. The Hanger was a two story job, with a catwalk around the second floor. There were several people on the catwalk, and a lot of test equipment. The height finder was installed on the ground floor, with the feed horn and electronics even with that catwalk. The department head, a civilian, was standing just under the front edge of the catwalk talking to some airmen. I approached with the cart I had the equipment on, but before I got to the group, I was stopped – not by someone, but by something – and the group came over to where I had stopped. Just then, one of the guys on the catwalk stumbled, and knocked over a rather large piece of test equipment, which smacked into the floor, right where these guys had been! That was in 1955.
In Sept 1956, while on temporary duty to Sembach, Germany, our Berlin detachment headquarters, I was on a bus, getting ready to ride out to the Sembach detachment operational site, when I told the driver, “Do not start yet. Wait 15 seconds.” He turned around, looked at me rather strangely (he was German), and said “What?” Actually, what he said was “Vas?” Just then a sedan speed through the intersection, followed by two Air Police vehicles, sirens and lights just starting up. He turned around, looked through the windshield and said in broken English “How did you know?” I told him that I didn’t know how I knew, but that I just knew. He said “We would have been in the middle of that intersection. You come home with me tonight, we give you a GOOD GERMAN dinner!’. That dinner was a lot of fun, and excellent.
In Berlin, Dec. 1956 about a week before Christmas, I was on a German bus, going out to the Army PX by the consulate. I found a wallet on the floor, it had about 1500 German Marks in it, and a woman's Ausvise – German identification. I looked up the address on the big map of Berlin in the PX, got on a bus, and rode out to the English sector, found the address, knocked on the door, and when the lady came to the door, asked if she spoke English. Nope, however, her daughter and son did, who came to the door. I asked if she had lost her “Actentache”, and she said yes. So I asked her to describe it and its contents, which she did, and they translated. I handed her the wallet, and she broke into tears. That money had been her months pay, and she wouldn’t have any more until the end of January the next year. She had to live on that money. They absolutely insisted that I had to come to dinner the following Sunday. When I arrived, (I was asked to wear a uniform), the whole family was there, grandparents, the two kids, and a couple of cousins. Some of them spoke English, and I was learning German. Great meal, and great fun. Now this doesn’t seem to fit in with the “coincidence” theme, does it? Well, turns out that she was related to the bus driver in Sembach that I had stopped. He was there too. He took one look at me and said “Are you at it again?”
I had to go on Temporary Duty to Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1956. Wakkanai is on the tip of Hokkaido and there was snow tail deep to a tall giraffe. Four of us went into the village because one of the guys needed to get something – I don’t remember what, he was sending it home to his wife, and we were walking down the street. There were shops and some traffic, not much, just too damned cold. There were four women walking toward us, and for some reason, I yelled out STOP at the top of my lungs. They suddenly stopped, and the guys all turned and looked at me, just as a huge icicle broke off the top of the building, and shattered onto the street, right where those women would have been. Everyone, even I just sort of stood there, looking at each other. The women ran up, and started jabbering at me. Sounded like they were mad, but one of the guys spoke Japanese, and said they were thanking me, and how did I know what was about to happen. I just stood there, finally told them that apparently, I must have heard the icicle crack. That satisfied everyone, except me. I hadn’t heard a damned thing.
In early ’57, I went to a little hat shop, sold men’s hats and caps. I had always wanted a fedora, and found a really nice gray snap brim.
Another time, in Wichita, in 1954, after I had graduated, and looking for work, after I got laid off the railroad after 6 months and two stations, because my eyes did not meet their minimum standards without glasses. I was walking to my grandmothers when out of nowhere, and for absolutely no reason I can explain to this day, I stopped, turned around from the corner I was standing on, and walked back about 100 feet and stopped. Just then, a car ran a red light, was Tee-boned by another car, and smacked THROUGH the traffic light pole I had been standing by.
\
Yep. Makes one wonder.
In the Air Force I had several really good ones, one day at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Miss, I was in a hanger that housed a height-finding radar school. I had been sent over by the director of our department to deliver some test equipment that our department had borrowed from them. The Hanger was a two story job, with a catwalk around the second floor. There were several people on the catwalk, and a lot of test equipment. The height finder was installed on the ground floor, with the feed horn and electronics even with that catwalk. The department head, a civilian, was standing just under the front edge of the catwalk talking to some airmen. I approached with the cart I had the equipment on, but before I got to the group, I was stopped – not by someone, but by something – and the group came over to where I had stopped. Just then, one of the guys on the catwalk stumbled, and knocked over a rather large piece of test equipment, which smacked into the floor, right where these guys had been! That was in 1955.
In Sept 1956, while on temporary duty to Sembach, Germany, our Berlin detachment headquarters, I was on a bus, getting ready to ride out to the Sembach detachment operational site, when I told the driver, “Do not start yet. Wait 15 seconds.” He turned around, looked at me rather strangely (he was German), and said “What?” Actually, what he said was “Vas?” Just then a sedan speed through the intersection, followed by two Air Police vehicles, sirens and lights just starting up. He turned around, looked through the windshield and said in broken English “How did you know?” I told him that I didn’t know how I knew, but that I just knew. He said “We would have been in the middle of that intersection. You come home with me tonight, we give you a GOOD GERMAN dinner!’. That dinner was a lot of fun, and excellent.
In Berlin, Dec. 1956 about a week before Christmas, I was on a German bus, going out to the Army PX by the consulate. I found a wallet on the floor, it had about 1500 German Marks in it, and a woman's Ausvise – German identification. I looked up the address on the big map of Berlin in the PX, got on a bus, and rode out to the English sector, found the address, knocked on the door, and when the lady came to the door, asked if she spoke English. Nope, however, her daughter and son did, who came to the door. I asked if she had lost her “Actentache”, and she said yes. So I asked her to describe it and its contents, which she did, and they translated. I handed her the wallet, and she broke into tears. That money had been her months pay, and she wouldn’t have any more until the end of January the next year. She had to live on that money. They absolutely insisted that I had to come to dinner the following Sunday. When I arrived, (I was asked to wear a uniform), the whole family was there, grandparents, the two kids, and a couple of cousins. Some of them spoke English, and I was learning German. Great meal, and great fun. Now this doesn’t seem to fit in with the “coincidence” theme, does it? Well, turns out that she was related to the bus driver in Sembach that I had stopped. He was there too. He took one look at me and said “Are you at it again?”
I had to go on Temporary Duty to Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1956. Wakkanai is on the tip of Hokkaido and there was snow tail deep to a tall giraffe. Four of us went into the village because one of the guys needed to get something – I don’t remember what, he was sending it home to his wife, and we were walking down the street. There were shops and some traffic, not much, just too damned cold. There were four women walking toward us, and for some reason, I yelled out STOP at the top of my lungs. They suddenly stopped, and the guys all turned and looked at me, just as a huge icicle broke off the top of the building, and shattered onto the street, right where those women would have been. Everyone, even I just sort of stood there, looking at each other. The women ran up, and started jabbering at me. Sounded like they were mad, but one of the guys spoke Japanese, and said they were thanking me, and how did I know what was about to happen. I just stood there, finally told them that apparently, I must have heard the icicle crack. That satisfied everyone, except me. I hadn’t heard a damned thing.
In early ’57, I went to a little hat shop, sold men’s hats and caps. I had always wanted a fedora, and found a really nice gray snap brim.
Loved that hat. Anyway, I was on the corner, just after purchasing the hat. Now, you got to remember, many of these buildings had been destroyed in the war. This one had withstood most of the bombing, and subsequent fire. There were a group of people, locals, a couple of U.S. Army guys, a French trooper, and a couple of English soldiers. They were all up against the side of the building, out of the rain, right at the corner, where they could see the bus coming. All of a sudden I got a really panicky feeling in the pit of my stomach, and started yelling “Everyone away from the building. Vek, Vek (German for Away)”. Everyone jumped away from the building except this elderly German couple. They just stood there, frozen. I shoved them to the side, and stepped right. About that time a huge chunk of the cornice, weighing in at about 125 lbs smacked into the sidewalk, right where the couple had been standing, missing me by about 6 inches. Everyone just stood there with their mouths open. The bus came, and we got on. And that was that.
Another time in ’57, three of us GI’s were walking down KurfurstenDam in Berlin, when I suddenly stopped and looked into a store window, The other guys stopped and said “What is that Smitty?” I said “I dunno, just seemed interesting.”, When a bus going by blew a tire, and that chunk of rubber smacked right through a picture window, just inches from where we were standing. If we had continued walking, that thing would have hit the three of us, probably with injuries. And so it goes.
I have had so many of these things, that I just say “Thanks Guys”, with a mental nod upstairs, “Appreciate it muchly”, and keep going.
In June of 2014, we were on the freeway, going down to San Juan Bautista California, for our bi monthly Shredded Beef Burrito at Dona Esthers, when for no reason I could think of, I took an exit off highway 101, onto Masten Ave., San Martin CA. Just as we went onto the exit, a semi traveling beside where we were blew a trailer tire, and that alligator (trucker term for a huge chunk of rubber that will chew up your car) sailed right through where we would have been. Yep. Thanks Guys, Appreciate it.
Now folks, this is dowsing with a vengeance.
Another time in ’57, three of us GI’s were walking down KurfurstenDam in Berlin, when I suddenly stopped and looked into a store window, The other guys stopped and said “What is that Smitty?” I said “I dunno, just seemed interesting.”, When a bus going by blew a tire, and that chunk of rubber smacked right through a picture window, just inches from where we were standing. If we had continued walking, that thing would have hit the three of us, probably with injuries. And so it goes.
I have had so many of these things, that I just say “Thanks Guys”, with a mental nod upstairs, “Appreciate it muchly”, and keep going.
In June of 2014, we were on the freeway, going down to San Juan Bautista California, for our bi monthly Shredded Beef Burrito at Dona Esthers, when for no reason I could think of, I took an exit off highway 101, onto Masten Ave., San Martin CA. Just as we went onto the exit, a semi traveling beside where we were blew a trailer tire, and that alligator (trucker term for a huge chunk of rubber that will chew up your car) sailed right through where we would have been. Yep. Thanks Guys, Appreciate it.
Now folks, this is dowsing with a vengeance.
