Pink Mist

Okay, so you know the post-Superbowl episode of Grey's Anatomy. It began with a dream sequence of Meredith, Izzie, and Christina soaping each other up in a shower stall. We then see George waking up. Then we find Meredith refusing to get out of bed because she knew something terrible was going to happen that day. Sure enough, all hell breaks loose. Shes forced by her friends to go to work anyway and her foreshadowing becomes reality. Theres a bomb inside one dude's body while McDreamy is nextdoor doing brain surgery on the Nazi's husband. And of course the hot bomb squad dude becomes pink mist seconds after taking the bomb out of Meredith's hands. The scene ends with Izzie and Christina in the shower cleaning the dirt and blood from Meredith's body. End scene. I left out a bit, but you get the jist.

The other day, I faced one of my hardest moral dilemmas ever. I was on the subway heading home from work and after a stop or two I moved to an empty seat. As I moved away from the pole I'd been holding onto, I saw a young guy, probably in his late teens bend down and pick something up. I saw something shiny and thought it might have been a quarter or something. Then I realized he was acting all nonchalant and hadn't but it in his pocket, but instead was hiding it in his fist. When he opened his fist a little I saw he was holding a diamond ring. I immediately made eye contact with the guy to let him know I knew what he had found. Then I realized, I should do something about it. I stared at the ring to determine if it was real or not. I usually have an uncanny ability to spot a fake diamond since I bought a new engagement ring to wear on April Fool's Day every year in college. I had to decide what to do. Do I claim it was mine to get it away from him? Do I tell him to "do the right thing" ie turn it in to the lost property people? Do I slip him a note saying that the reward will probably be for more money than the 100 bucks the pawn shop owner will give him?

Obviously I was scared that the guy would get violent if I confronted him so I decided that if it was in the cards for me to do something it would happen that when I got off at 125th street the guy would get off as well and I could flag a cop to discuss it with him. That did not happen. I am of course disappointed that I didn't do everything in my power to stop this thievery from happening. I am also disappointed that I have so little faith in NYC youths that I felt only me, and not the young man could get this ring back to its rightful owner.

I feel like the most mundane things we experience can sometimes be lifechanging. Its like that ridiculously stupid 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors. Something as simple as missing a train can change a life. What if that ring was an heirloom that is forever lost? What if that ring was to be used to propose to someone's loved one? What if what if what if?

Even if we wake up in the morning convinced that the day will end horribly we still must get up. We can't live our lives with what ifs? We aren't all going to end up being blown to bits by a bomb that was pulled from some crazy dude's chest cavity. We aren't all going to become Pink Mist. Meredith Grey should be blown up cause shes so damn annoying, but thats a story for a different day.