divine intervention

day three of taking chris, david and sharkie to school almost ended in disaster. as we pulled onto the 10 freeway from vermont, traffic was bad. whereas ten minutes the previous day got us all the way to school, ten minutes today didn't even get us to the 110. it was 7:55 and the clock was ticking. another couple of minutes puttering along the freeway and it became clear: something disastrous must have happened on the 10 to back traffic up this far.

i made the decision with the approval of the boys to go north on the 110 and attempt to cut through downtown via 6th street. i'm not sure if you've ever driven through downtown los angeles at rush hour, but it's not a pretty sight. it's not even a paticularly pretty sight mid-morning or early afternoon - the traffic lights are poorly synchronized, cars jam the streets and there's always some kind of construction or giant movie production van occupying an entire lane. no one, not even bruce almighty gets through without stopping at a couple lights.

but at 8:07 we gamble. we had to. we stop at the red on sixth and figueroa at 8:07 - 8 minutes to get all the way to the far east side of downtown where metropolitan continuation school sits. 8 minutes to get through a concrete jungle filled with moving obstacles, large and small. 8 minutes to see if this late day is the one that breaks the camel's back. the boys in the back are discouraged, knowing that if they're late, they've got a date with their probation officers. the contingency plans come flowing out like rap lyrics: "my mom'll get a doctor's note," "i'll say i was with the welfare man," "you just come in and tell the teachers," and on and on. man, wasn't i taking these kids to school to make sure they got there on time?

we start down sixth and a miracle unfolds before our eyes. one redlight turns green just as we approach, then another, and another and another... and before we know it, i'm praising God and telling the boys to pray for greens as we speed down sixth. red to green, red to green, red to green. it doesn't end until two lights before the school. at 8:13 we pull into the parking, the boys jump out of the car and into homeroom. they sign-in, presumably at 8:14, with a minute to spare.

Praise the Lord.