Part of me wishes I could tell the story as it unfolds and omit any mention of the future.  The best-told stories keep the suspense alive, yet here I go constantly defusing any doubt about the eventual outcome.  Why not just stick to the story?

As philosopher Soren Kierkegaard pointed out, Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backwards.  Although I agree my story would have more drama if I could concentrate on moving forward, that would force me to postpone my insights and wait for a later chapter. 

The importance of becoming the city's first Partner Dance teacher would not come clear until many months down the road. Although solving the crisis was the turning point in my career, that thought never crossed my mind at the time.  In fact, I did not give myself much credit on the day I passed my test.  To be honest, I felt more inadequate than I did proud.  For one thing, I had not yet realized my succession of Messengers might be linked.  Nor did I have any idea where this lucky break was headed.  Furthermore I figured any dance professional could accomplish this feat without need for help and probably get it done faster.  I was very ashamed of myself for procrastinating.  I also recalled how difficult it was to grasp what I was seeing on the dance floor and how I almost got that poor girl's nose bashed in by an errant elbow.  By concentrating on the negative, I failed to see the positive.   

As we will see, following my narrow escape during the Partner Dance Crisis, Lance Stevens will grow increasingly bitter.  At the time I did not grasp what his problem was.  However, through the advantage of Hindsight, I think I understand what bothered him so much.  Lance Stevens was born to teach Rabbits while I was born to teach Turtles.  Since Dancing came so easily to him, he had little patience for slow learners.  Meanwhile I was just the opposite.  Stevens never grasped that my lack of dance ability did not necessarily preclude teaching ability. 

The Pistachio Step accident was the first of many close calls.  Stevens had no idea about the incredible number of gambles I took.  But what else could I do?  Given my lack of experience, I had no choice but to play a game known as Fake it till you Make it.  Stevens was unaware that I succeeded time after time by staying one small step ahead of my own students.  Each time I cleared a hurdle, Stevens would chalk it up to dumb luck.

Imagine how baffled Stevens was by my Houdini-like escape from the Partner Dance dilemma.  Now multiply that ten times.  At the core of his dissatisfaction was the likelihood that my success assaulted his view of Reality.  Have you ever wondered what goes through a non-believer's mind when he is forced to witness a series of one lucky break after another? 

Poor Lance Stevens.  Watching me succeed against the odds must have disturbed him greatly.  He could not understand how an inexperienced teacher managed to thrive in a business that was supposed to reward excellence.  Stevens knew something suspicious was taking place, but he was not the open-minded type.  Stevens would not have been very happy if I told him a charmed life was the best explanation for my unlikely climb. 

MAGIC CARPET RIDE

Serious

Coincidence
Synchronicity

Before I continue, let me offer an apology.  As the narrator, I sometimes write as if I understood the Supernatural nature of each event at the same time as it occurred.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  A good example would be the Partner Dance Crisis.  I have listed it as a Supernatural event and claimed it to be a demonstration of Divine Intervention.  A bold claim indeed, but also a misleading one.  So what did I really think about my magical escape?  Upon the successful resolution of the Partner Dance Crisis, yes, I suspected something, but that is not the same thing as certainty.  The certainty did not come till much later. 

"You can't see the forest for the trees.” 

This saying highlights the danger of analyzing a single event while ignoring the larger context.  Let's retrace our steps and analyze the Partner Dance Crisis through the eyes of a skeptic. 

So Gary invites me to go with him to the Pistachio Club.  Over the years, lots of students asked me to join them. 

So Lance Stevens shows me the Disco Swing.  Makes perfect sense.  Stevens was worried I was too stupid to come up with a solution on my own. 

As for Suzy, there were other women in the Monday dance class who would have been willing to help. 

Sue Ann showed me the Pistachio Step.  Okay, that's great, but maybe half the people in the club knew the secret of the invisible hand. 

As for Janie and the Aggie Jitterbug, her convenient appearance would be harder to explain, but not impossible.  

In other words, if all I did was focus on each event one at a time, I risked missing the big picture.  Which is exactly what happened.  I was so busy, so tired, so preoccupied with clinging to my job that any thought of Divine Intervention was at the back of my mind, not the forefront.  Here is what I know that you don't know.  I was about to experience another dramatic event that practically screamed Divine Intervention.  I was so shaken by the new event that I was forced to reexamine the Partner Dance Crisis in context.  This is when the possibility that Divine Intervention was the most likely explanation for the well-organized procession of clues grew stronger in my mind.   In other words, it was not this or that convinced me, but rather a cumulative effect born of a change in perspective.

The day will come when I decide that I was leading a charmed life.  But we are not quite there yet.