Uncanny - Looney, even

Though I abhor Christopher Hitchens' politics, especially his position on the invasion/occupation of Iraq, I agree wholeheartedly with his anti-theist views, in that "I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful."

But every now and then something happens that makes me think there may be something to such metaphysical nonsense. To wit: As I was getting out of the shower this morning, for some reason I was thinking about one of my favorite pieces of recorded music: the version of Gerry Hemingway's "If You Like" on his Quintet's CD Slamadam. Lo and behold, not more than 30 minutes later, I hear the tune played on the WNUR Jazz Show (by DJ Mike B, I believe). I thought, "Maybe I heard the DJ say something before I went in the shower about Hemingway or the Random Acoustics label or something like that which would have made me think of that tune" -- but no, he didn't.

This kind of stuff happens a lot. Most memorably, one evening before bed I decided to read an article about the great filmmaker Chuck Jones -- someone about whom I'd never read anything before -- and when I woke up the next morning and turned on the radio, I heard the announcement of his death.

But instead of bending my knees and looking towards the sky, I'd rather just savor the moment, giggle, and move on, thinking "how strange and lovely."