Exhibit A

“I ask for a sign that even I can understand,” a friend once instructed me as I expressed uncertainty about a now long-forgotten issue. Her comment came back to me yesterday when I received an ultra-clear message from the Universe about the timing of a new phone purchase.

I got my most recent iPhone 5 exactly three years ago January, right before I was about to embark on my Semester at Sea. Three technology years made that device a relic in 2017. I was offered the gift of a 1/2 price iPhone 7, but thought I could squeeze out a few more months or years with the one I had. Yeah, I had a scare a month ago when the screen wouldn’t turn on without a hard reset and the battery went from 100% – 0 in record time, but that only happened a couple of times. I knew how to cope.

Yesterday I was walking to the post office to mail in my quarterly taxes, jaunting down Bennett Avenue in Washington Heights swinging my phone in its carrying device which has protected it for years now. Somehow (Exhibit B) the strap

Exhibit B

separated from the holder and it fell from my wrist in exactly the ONLY way it could to create a problem. The metal d-ring attaching my keys to the carrier had separated from the weight of the phone causing it to fall onto the ground. It must’ve landed on the very exposed edge of my phone and broken instantly.

Miraculously, I’m still able to use it and have bandaged it with clear tape until my new one arrives this evening.

I often second-guess myself and spend an inordinate amount of head-time on less important issues than editing my memoir, updating my website and planning new groups. I was happy to resolve this one quickly and happily.

P.S. If you’re wondering how I captured a photo of my phone whose camera I use to take photos, I did a workaround by opening up my zoom app and using my computer’s camera to capture the cracked device.