Will wonders never cease?

When I bought my car some 12 months ago, being that it was a more expensive one and taking into consideration my fear of theft- when the agent offered Lo-jack service for a nominal fee (which is a device planted in a secret location of the car, known only to the LoJack technician that installs it) I fell for it. Yes, yes and of course, yes I screamed. Who has not heard horror stories of mugging in downtown DC? And given that I frequent the waterfront and sights of downtown DC, both during the day and night(ahem, pliss to not mistake the mint to be a party girl!- I only go to take beautiful night shots of the Capitol, trust me!), I was secretly pleased. And relieved - that my car, my beaut was in safe hands. Of course, insurance premiums for this expensive toy were higher than usual which warranted many lectures from coworkers and friends alike on how Japanese cars cost less, demand lesser premiums, serve more and have a great return value. I nodded my head, smiled thankfully and continued to buy my dream car :). We are KNOWN to be stubborn arent we? Again, I digress. The car did not come equipped with a GPS, btw.

This weekend, after a successful and overdue trip to the temple, I drove amma to Baltimore. While I have mastered the art of driving around DC, Baltimore was virgin territory. Since I had taken a different route to get there and disobeyed Google maps' directions, I landed at a different entrance to the aquarium. Fortunately for me, I saw a public parking lot right across from the entrance. Eureka! I thought to myself. I rolled down the driver side window , collected a ticket, drove in, parked and we got down. I advised amma to bring her best walking shoes, loaded ourselves with food and water, armed with shades - I proudly locked the car. For a fleeting moment I wondered if I should lock it with the wheel club, but then my senses reminded me of LoJack and hence convinced, we were out and away....for a good 5 hrs!

Now some salient points to keep in mind are- I always have a compact camera in the car, for those sudden inspirational shots. The more expensive SLR stays at home. Secondly I of course, have my registration/insurance cards in the car. Just that day, with a load of shopping that was done the previous evening, that was left in the car as well.

Cut to the current, we returned to the car and as I unlocked it, I realised....................................................................................................... the driver side window was rolled all the way down! Without panicking, my eyes espied the camera that continued to sit innocently near the cup holder, the shopping bags in the back seats and everything in tact!

Post mortem report - remember I had mentioned, I'd rolled the window down to collect the ticket??? I never undid that action. So just to get things into perspective- the car had been sitting for 5 hrs in a parking lot in downtown Baltimore with a camera, important papers AND a boat load of shopping all right where it had been left at.

So, should this be labelled as 1. a narrow escape 2. miracle 3. just plain luck or 4. common everyday events?

I dont know...once in a while goose bumps erupt just at the thought of what could have happened, some times my mind heaves a sigh of relief that nothing did, some times I am amazed by some of the little events that grace our lives to constantly remind us to marvel and wonder at life and its miracles.

Yes, its all good and all's well that ends well.

Ending the post with some pictures of fishy wonder, courtesy the national aquarium at Baltimore. The dolphin show was spectacular and the summer harborside street concerts, definitely entertaining.