I’ve written on this blog before about the “Mysterious Ways” that my family has experienced over the years—like falling babies and comfort from beyond. Recently, one of these powerful and inexplicable moments happened to my girlfriend, Nicole.
For Chanukah two years ago, I bought Nicole a pair of shearling earmuffs. I had remembered how much she said she hated wearing a winter hat when it got cold (she never liked how they looked on her), so I got her the next best thing to help keep her warm. She loved the gift—she’s worn the earmuffs for two winters now.
Last week, Nicole was heading home from work, riding the New York City subway. The train stopped at Union Square and Nicole got out. As she stepped through the subway doors, the earmuffs fell from her head…and dropped straight through the foot-wide gap between the train and the platform to the tracks below.
Nicole was upset. “Don’t go down to the track,” somebody warned her. Good advice. Union Square is a busy station, with trains running past nearly every minute, and the platforms are curved dramatically in places, making it hard to see if the next train is coming. Then there’s the deadly electricity running through one of the rails and a plethora of unfriendly rats running around in the muck.
Nicole walked to the exit and explained what had happened to a subway worker stationed at the booth, but the worker explained that he couldn’t leave his post. It would be an hour before another worker could come and help retrieve the earmuffs. “Maybe if you had a pole or something to fish it out,” the worker suggested. I wish, Nicole thought. Where would she get something like that in the subway? Frustrated, Nicole walked back to the platform to wait for the other worker to arrive.
A homeless man was sitting right near where the earmuffs fell. Nicole hadn’t noticed him there earlier. Next to the man was a small rolling cart, full of various junk he had collected. “Excuse me,” Nicole said, “But you don’t have a stick by any chance, do you? My earmuffs fell…”
The man rummaged around in his things… and pulled out a long wooden stick. He went to the edge of the track and used the stick to reach down to the earmuffs. With a little maneuvering, he hooked the earmuffs onto the end and brought them back up to a very happy Nicole.
Nicole was grateful. She thanked the man and began digging through her purse for her wallet. After all, she wanted to give the man a reward for helping her.
When she looked up, the man was gone, along with his cart of belongings. It had only been a few seconds. No subway train had arrived to whisk the man away. Nicole looked up and down the track, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
I’m not sure if he was an angel, or was just extraordinarily fleet of foot. But I am thankful for the man who made Nicole’s day and rescued my gift to her.
Have you had an encounter with someone that you can’t explain? A person who was there one moment to help you, and was gone the next? Share your story with us.
