And then, between craning my stiff neck backwards to keep an eye on the screens and bending forward to talk to my friend, I was jolted by what Thoreau called a “fabulous reality.”

Directly in front of us, a mother duck bravely and single-mindedly led her six ducklings, single-file, across the hurtling traffic of the freeway.

I was dumbfounded.

“Oh, my God! Look"! I yelled.

My friend switched lanes quickly. We safely passed them, but my heart sank as I gazed back. A line of traffic, like tracking missiles, was directly aimed towards this innocent entourage.

Miraculously and intentionally, every car swerved to avoid them.

What lessons to be learned from this wonderful reality! Nature vs. technology. And both won. Because technology slowed down to let Nature pass.

That mother literally looked death in the face for her family. And they, with blind love, followed.

But for me, the biggest lesson was this: It was a hot, miserable day. My friend and I were disgruntled at having to stop to fix those screens. But if Time had not intervened, the fabulous reality of seeing those ducks would have been missed.

The Universe has its own time table. It’s own watch. Often, what seems bad or evil to us at the moment, has better consequences down the road.

Even if that road is a freeway.