What are the Odds

A true story by C. Duane Hague

During my drive home from work one late July afternoon, an attractive young woman, applying makeup while simultaneously talking on a cell phone, very nearly sideswiped my car. We’d been progressing more or less side by side for several blocks, the traffic at a crawl. Because of this proximity, it was difficult for me to believe that she didn’t see me there; I mean, a ton and a half of automobile isn’t exactly invisible.

Since my air conditioning no longer worked, I had my windows rolled down and I noticed that she did, too. The temperature was well above ninety degrees. Hot and irritable, I yelled at her to get off the phone and pay attention to her driving. Her apologetic reply came to me as clear as a bell through my car radio. She was conversing with a local talk show host on the station to which I was listening.