Have you ever had a moment in your life when you were in the right place at precisely the right time to make a difference in someone else’s life? You can’t explain why you were there, and often it happens while you were doing something unusual or that was not part of your normal schedule. Most likely you were also caught up in the emotions of the  “What would have happened if I had not...” syndrome. To demonstrate what I mean, let me share a little story with you.

Jim was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when he heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, he stopped to listen and panicked when he realized that what he was hearing was the unmistakable sound of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling and tearing of fabric.

Only yards from where Jim stood, a woman was being attacked. Jim didn’t know what to do. Should he get involved? He was frightened for his own safety and cursed himself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. He was worried about becoming another statistic. Shouldn’t he just run to the nearest phone and call the police?

As he struggled from within, the girl’s cries were growing weaker. He knew he had to act fast. Yet he knew he couldn’t just walk away from this. He realized that he could not turn his back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking his own life.

Now, Jim was not a brave man, nor was he athletic. He didn’t quite know where he found the moral courage and physical strength, but once he resolved to help the girl, he became strangely transformed. He ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman. Grappling, they fell to the ground, where they wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.

Panting hard, Jim scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing. In the darkness, Jim could barely see her outline, but he could certainly sense her trembling shock. Not wanting to frighten her further, he at first spoke to her from a distance. “It’s okay,” Jim said soothingly. “The man ran away. You’re safe now”. There was a long pause and then he heard the words, uttered in wonder, in amazement. “Dad, is that you? And then, from behind the tree, out stepped Jim’s youngest daughter, Katherine.

What was it that made Jim decide that very night to take a different route home? What was it that made him go against his natural inclination to run away and let someone else come to the rescue?

Was it luck or divine providence? Was Jim just in the right place at the right time?

Something remarkable has happened in my life recently which has me asking the same questions. Last March, without warning, the Teachers’ Pension Plan had a change in policy which allowed me to retire three years ahead of time on an early reduced pension. It gave me the opportunity I needed to leave teaching to work with my sons on the development of a business consulting company which provides web site design and management for small businesses. We have since created a discount shopping club called the Infocom Price Club which is going to be used by The Vision Paper in a major fund-raising drive to raise money for the Food Banks of Valley East, Capreol and Nickel Centre. Money raised from a portion of  the membership fee will go directly to the Food Banks in those communities to assist the volunteers in serving the needs of the many impoverished people of all ages who live among us.

Yes, it is true that the Infocom Price Club has created employment for my sons, thus enabling them to look forward to living their life in Valley East. But, it has also provided a way for the Food Banks to raise much needed money to continue their good works in this community. What would have happened if the pension board hadn’t changed its policy? If I was still teaching, would my sons have moved away from home by now? And what about the Food Banks? Where would they get their money?

I guess when all is said and done, it doesn’t matter much why things happen the way they do. We just need to accept our fate and make the most of it. Right now, I am very grateful to The Vision Paper for sponsoring this fund-raising project; to the owners of LOEB Val Est, Food Basics, Moncion’s Independent Grocers, Capreol Fresh Mart and Garson Foodland for providing space in their grocery stores where people can purchase memberships; to the co-ordinators of the Good Neighbours, St. Vincent de Paul, Bread and Roses and Garson Food Banks for using the money raised to purchase food and supplies for the less fortunate of our community; and most importantly, to the people of Valley East, Capreol and Garson who will be purchasing memberships to the Infocom Price Club to help raise money for the Food Banks.

Was it luck? Divine Providence? Or simply being in the right place at the right time? Making sure that everyone in our community has enough food to eat all year long is all that matters.