Serendipity

 Leaving oneself open to the possibilities of serendipitous happenstance, then embracing it when the opportunity presents, is key to enjoying life as we age.

 

Today’s case in point:

 

While gathering the ingredients to make chili, I discovered I had no celery. (Full recipe available upon request in comments.) I hadn’t planned on going to the store, and someone as OCD as I am can be does not like such abrupt schedule changes.

 

The Beloved Spouse™ most recently drove the car, which meant the radio was on. (I rarely listen to the radio when driving. I like the quiet time to shout at other drivers.) She tends to alternate between the local news and classical stations. My hand was already reaching for the Power button when I recognized Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

 

This, I’ll listen to.

 

I considered staying in the car in the supermarket’s parking lot until the piece ended, but it was still early in the second movement and I had things to do. I waited until the trumpets played their melody, then ran in for my celery and a couple of donuts.

 

In the car the third movement had started. I was about to settle in when the man who’d been in front of me in line hollered for my attention. He’d locked his keys in his truck; could I give him a lift to his apartment? It’s just up the hill. Not much in the mood for the interruption – he’d already proven he’d chat with a rock – I also couldn’t leave a man with a portable oxygen tank stranded.

 

Fortunately I knew exactly where he lived; The Beloved Spouse™ and I considered getting my parents to move there when the stairs made their house too dangerous. (We failed, of course. My parents were even stubborner than I am.) I took him home and turned the radio back on about halfway into the exposition of the fourth movement. I took the scenic route home and sat in my parking spot an extra minute to hear the ending.

 

Gary Bird, my undergrad Music Lit teacher, said that Beethoven 5 was the most perfect piece of music ever written. He said the Ninth was a greater, but any change made to the Fifth would diminish it. I can’t argue with that, but, to me, Beethoven 5 is the greatest, and most perfect, piece of music ever written.

 

I am almost overcome with a sense of elation, often to the point of tears, when the brass enter with the main theme of the fourth movement. I was fortunate enough to perform the Fifth twice. Each time the music transcended the abilities of the community orchestras that took it on.

 

I would have missed it this time had I not needed celery, or been quicker to turn off the radio. Sometimes an unexpected interruption is exactly what we need.