It was to be a memorable weekend of fun, a relaxing drive through California’s wine country, Napa Valley. We loaded 240 people on five buses for a day trip through Northern California. Four buses left the hotel. My staff and three other colleagues stayed behind to board bus number 5; we waited a little longer for any stragglers who may have overslept. Finally the last two people showed up, grabbed their boxed breakfast and went on the bus. A total of 35 people including the driver, Vince, was on Bus number 5.

We left the hotel and headed on the freeway. Just as we approached the entrance to the city, we felt a thug as if someone had hit the bus. I was sitting up front close to Vince. I leaned over and asked Vince if someone hit us. His eyes were already glancing around as he also wondered what was going on. In his side view mirror, he detected that we had a flat tire, so he said he was going to pull over. He slowly and carefully moved over to the far right lane. Then in a few seconds, he said, “Oh dear, there is fire by the tire. We need to get everyone quickly off the bus.” He managed to pull off at an exit and stopped under a bypass. I shouted to everyone to get off the bus now. My colleagues and myself quickly moved everyone as far away from the bus as possible. As the last person exited, the back of the bus burst into flames. Within seconds the entire bus was engulfed with fire. Blazing flames and thick black smoke were seen rising above the bypass.

Everything happened within a very short time. If Vince had not acted quickly in moving the bus off the highway and getting all of us off the bus in time, it could have been a devastating day and lives could have been lost.

Angels were on bus number 5. A few people lost personal property, but overall everyone came away unscarred. We thank God for Vince and for his discernment, and we thank God for saving each of the 35 lives that day.

I left my house in plenty of time to catch my flight, only to arrive at the airport and discover the plane is delayed due to missing crew personnel. I was trying to get to an appointment in North Carolina for the evening. When I asked the gate agent if he knew when we were going to depart, he said he did not know because they were waiting on the crew. He did mention that he would keep the passengers updated. We may have waited for 1 1/2 hour before the crew finally showed up and we were able to board the plane. I phoned my contact to let them know I was running late and to reschedule the appointment for later. 

I boarded the plane, pulled out my ipod, and stuck the earplugs in my ear, in hopes of enjoying a quiet 80- minute flight to my destination. As I was getting comfortable, a lady came and sits next to me. She sat down and let out a big sigh. I tried not to notice her and reached for my book out of my bag. She put her bag under the seat in front of her and then said in a bit of relief, “I can’t believe this.” Not wanting to be friendly or engage in conversation, I turned my head towards the window hoping that she would sense I was not interested in chatter on this flight. Then she muttered something again. I let out a mmm. The plane pulled back and we were heading towards the runway, see continued to talk. Read More…

I was in San Francisco on a business trip and went out to eat in one of the suburbs. I had a few hours to spare, so I decided to check out the town and the shops. As I walked along, a real estate Ad caught my eye in the window of one of the stores. It displayed a beautiful house, fully furnished in a nearby neighborhood. I stopped and gauged at the house- selling for several million dollars. I then heard a voice over my shoulder saying, “Go ahead you can afford it.” I turned around and a small size lady was behind me. She was wearing jogging clothes carrying a Popeye’s paper bag. I looked at her and said, “I’m only dreaming.” She fired back and said, “That’s the problem with people, they don’t believe, they limit themselves.” This caught my attention. She continued talking about limitless possibilities. She shared her story of being a high paid corporate executive, then leaving her job to start her own business; she mentioned interior design. She pulled out a swatch book of colors and a portfolio of remodeling pictures. I became fascinated since I love interior design and do a lot of decorating myself. She seemed to know what she was talking about. So I looked at her portfolio of colors, styles and designs. 

After a few minutes she suggested we walk down the street. We ended up right in front of a Pottery Barn, one of my favorite stores. We went in and looked around and she started to point out the different styles. We spend hours in the store until it finally closed. However, no one kicked us out. Even the general manager came over and sat with us and talked. When I looked at my watch is past 9pm. Read More…