good: 1; evil: 0

For a change of scenery, I was grading papers on the steps overlooking the Sumida River (right next to St. Luke's). Building storm clouds reflected on the gray, roiling water of the canal.

Then a huge wasp showed up and I made a hasty departure. So hasty, in fact, that I left my appointment calendar on the steps. I only noticed it was gone after I got back to the office. Instant panic. Lost calendar=end of world.

I rushed back, retracing my steps, reviewing in my mind all the places I might have possibly laid the book down. Finally, I get to the steps: Nothing.

Then I notice a dog-walking couple standing close by, talking as they examined something. My calendar! I thank them profusely, resisting the urge to hug them.

I start to breathe again. As I head back to the hospital, the first drops of rain start to fall.

Fortunate? You might think so. But I prefer to think of it as a narrow victory over the Forces of Darkness that were trying to disrupt my work and make me really, really bummed. It's more interesting to see myself as involved, albeit in a very miniscule way, in an epic clash between Light and Darkness.

Besides, I have absolutely no trouble imagining wasps as agents of the devil.