Image by StockSnap from Pixabay.
By Sister Michele Morek
As I descended every day into the hot, crowded, noisy subway under Grand Central Station in New York City, I knew there was a little treat waiting for me. When the subway car pulled up to the platform, it would squeal out three long notes – the first three notes of the song, “Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us),” the love song of the star-crossed lovers in West Side Story.
Sister Michele Morek
In delight, I would turn to my travel companion, asking her if she heard it. And she never did. And no doubt she got annoyed with me for singing the song the rest of the way home. All the other people I asked denied hearing it. But I heard it every time, the three pure tones – dah, dah, dah.
This year in July – 15 years later – I was listening to “Radiolab,” when I finally got my answer. Apparently, there were other people who heard it; one was a journalist who went searching for the explanation. She went to the Metro authorities, the mechanics, and even an engineer in Canada. He explained that there is a box under the subway car that reconciles the AC/DC electrical current, emitting the three musical frequencies as the car brakes. The reporter asked the engineer (who just happened to be a musician too!) why was it those particular three tones; did they engineer those on purpose, as a treat? No, it turns out it was just an accident.
But the story reminded me of all the little surprises God tucks into our days, like a mother tucking little surprises into our lunchbox: a little note that says, “I love you,” or a little chocolate bar, or a hidden Easter egg.
Think of all the little unexpected surprises God tucks into your days. Didn’t Saint Angela promise us, “Act, Move, Believe … then be ready for big surprises?” Even little surprises are welcome. One of my “Easter egg surprises” for this year was tuning in to “Radiolab” and having a mystery solved to my satisfaction!
Why didn’t the other people on the platform hear the little song? They were all probably too distracted by the other squeaks, squeals, and screeches the subway made. Or – maybe – to get your Easter egg surprises you have to pay attention. You have to be eager to be surprised. In the Prologue to her Rule, Saint Angela told us,
“Therefore, I ask you to be alert, with great and longing heart.”
- Have you experienced an “Easter egg” moment hidden in one of your days recently?
- Did you ever miss one because you were not “paying attention?”
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