When Science Pauses and Angels Whisper: A Week of Perfect Timing

My guardian angel watches over me closely. Though not deeply religious, I’m often mystified when logic and serendipity intersect, creating scenarios that defy easy explanation. Some of these experiences were chronicled in my personal memoir, where intuitive voices led me to places that yielded unlikely outcomes. Still, as a man educated in math and science, I struggle to find plausibility each time an angel taps me on the shoulder and points the way. This week was no different.

For the first time in seven years, my short-term housing business didn’t receive a single reservation for the upcoming week. For context, one or two days without a reservation in a given week is extraordinary; four consecutive days—in this case, Sunday through Wednesday—is unheard of. But it happened.

On Sunday morning, I woke early to find the second floor slightly warmer than expected. The guests were still asleep. The second floor is where guests reside, while I lodge comfortably on the first. By 10 a.m., the last guest had checked out, hopefully without noticing the moderate increase in temperature. As I fiddled with the thermostat, a major malfunction became immediately obvious. Hours later, the second floor had become a furnace—over 87 degrees and climbing.

I called Canady Heating and Air, my usual service technicians, but their offices were closed. I left an urgent voicemail. The following morning, they returned my call and scheduled service. “It looks like Thursday is the earliest we can come out,” they said—less than music to my ears. Downright annoying, in fact.

Then something struck me. This timing felt surreal. The house would be vacant for the next three days anyway, with the next guests scheduled to check in Thursday evening—the very day Canady was set to arrive.

Coincidence?

In my experience any thing but.