Instant Karma's Gonna Get You

John Lennon was a smart guy, especially when it comes to talking about Karma - more specifically Instant Karma.

A few years ago I did a good thing. There was a woman who lived in my complex whose father was dying in the hospital. Her mother was already with him and the young woman had no way to join them. Her car was broken down or something like that. So, I offered to give her a ride.

Before I continue let me give you a little background information about my relationship to this particular person.

The woman, I'll call her Tina, was a born again Christian - at least that was what she professed to me. I had seen her speak in tongues on more than one occasion and she often lectured me on the gospel. One time she even came to my door, at the request of her mother, to try and save my soul. They were well meaning, if not a little strange. I was always polite and did my best to explain my beliefs to her in the best way I knew how. It did little to convince Tina or her mother. I can still remember Tina's face when I 'confessed' that I didn't believe in sin.

So, back to the story...

I drove Tina to the hospital making polite chatter as we traveled. She insisted on giving me gas money since my low fuel light was on before we began our trip and it was still two days before I got paid. I refused and told her not to worry about it - that I'd make it home on my good Karma. I said this in a kidding way... well mostly.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital she asked again if she could give me some money for my trouble. I assured her that it was no trouble at all. Just as I spoke I caught a flash of green out of the corner of my eye. There, lying in a puddle of rainwater and leaves was a five dollar bill. I jumped from the car, looked around to see if someone might have dropped the money then slid it into my pocket with a shrug.

"See," I said. "Karma."