"If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it a coincidence. But do it a third time and you've just proven a natural law." ~ Grace Hopper
“Latter-day Saints, having received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, are entitled to personal inspiration in the small events of life as well as when they are confronted with the giant Goliaths of life.” ~James E. Faust
I must prelude this story with a short story.
Just over a year ago, as I was walking up the stairs at work, I reached for my keys so I could open the door. Somehow, the split ring that attached my car key to the rest had come loose and it fell off the ring. I heard it drop, slide and drop again. To my horror, it had slid down a gap between the building and the stairs. I immediately went to the management office to see if there was a way under the stair well. My stomach dropped when I was told “No”.
My boss, not wanting me to incur the great cost of replacing a remote key, went home to fetch his SUPER MAGNET and many hours later (sparing the details) my key was retrieved.
Flash forward to today .
My morning started earlier than usual. Up at 4:00 AM. Out the door by 4:50 AM. Picked up two of Taylor’s friends and I dropped all three off at the airport. After a quick hug goodbye, I went straight into work. As I was walking up the stairs to the office, I reached for my keys to unlock the door. The entire key ring got caught up in a wire basket I was carrying and then slipped out of my hands. To my horror, it had slid down a gap between the building and the stairs. (Déjà vu)
It was cold and dark. No one was around to help. I considered waiting it out until someone else showed up to unlock to door, but the thought of sitting there in the cold for 2 hours was too much. I called Evan and woke him up. He promptly brought me his spare key and I sat in my warm car until after 8 AM. During that time, I noticed Travis, the friendly maintenance man (who incidentally, is not usually around as he works at many properties). I explained to him my situation and he got permission from the manager to cut out the extra railing that would expose a small opening. I told him I would volunteer to crawl in. He said he would be back later.
I was sick about my situation all day long. TWO remote keys, house keys, office keys. Headache, nausea, upset stomach. I managed to stay on task and get my morning work done. Soon it was lunch time and I was heading out the door to pick up our order of comfort food. As I was heading down the stairs, I was prompted to look once more. The sun was up and the lighting was perfect, because this time, I noticed something different. There was a ledge under the stairs at approximately the same spot where the keys fell. I also remembered the sounds of this morning. It sounded different from the first time. No slide. No additional drop. As I looked, I noticed a small black nubbin peeking ever so slightly from under the stair. I wondered.
After lunch, I took a hanger and carefully swept it near the nubbin. My keys appeared along the edge. After creating a hook on the hanger, and the help of my boss we were able to, once again, retrieve the keys. I called off Travis and breathed A LOT easier for the rest of the day.
I hope now, that there is no proof of a natural law in this series of events.
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