The World Series and Instant Karma

A couple of weeks ago, I heard an amazing story from my old buddy Jim. He lived in the Bay Area during the 1989 Earthquake. His roommate had just bought a BMW and went to watch the San Francisco Giants - Oakland A's world series game. As if it were not drama enough to have teams from across the Bay play each other, the earthquake hit just before the game - an earthquake that was so severe that officials decided to postpone the game until later. (We Californians scoff at Pennsylvanians who think that rain is reason enough for a delay - we play until devastating earthquakes hit.)

Jim's roommate went out to the parking lot to drive home. There was, however, a little problem. His car had been stolen.

It took the police only hours to find his car. When the earthquake hit, the four men who stole it were driving on a section of bridge that collapsed. The car had been crushed down to about two feet high and the car thieves were instantly killed.

Yesterday, the Phillies completed a game that spanned three days because of weather. It is not obvious that the good people of Philadelphia believe in karma the way folks in the Bar Area do; I have heard no reports of car thieves whose enjoyment of the series was interrupted by this same bad weather.