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My life is "Stranger than Fiction"

By Melanie Zimmermann | Hickory Daily Record

Published: December 17, 2008

One of my favorite movies is "Stranger than Fiction." It leaves the viewer staring at the screen and saying, "Hmmm."

Harold Crick is an IRS agent who has a set routine he follows every day without fail. One day he wakes up to a female voice narrating his life, which sets off a train of events that eventually disrupts his routine and saves his life, figuratively and symbolically.

Tuesday was one of those days. I followed my regular routine. I woke up, walked down the hall, started the coffee, walked back down the hall, woke up the daughter who growled at me, said hey to the dog, let the cat out, poured a cup of coffee, took my growling daughter to school and walked downstairs to my computer to update some news. And the computer didn't want to cooperate.

It was turning out to be a day where the planets were not aligning in my favor. Since my morning routine wasn't working for me, I decided to head to the office. My husband, whom I love dearly, was in the shower and had locked the door. So I had to wait to brush my teeth.

As I got into the car to go to work, I noticed my daughter's clarinet in the back seat. I had an appointment near the school later so I thought I would drop it off after the appointment. When I got to work, it looked like none of that was going to happen.

I finally made it to the appointment and as I left the school, I went through a drive-through to get lunch. It felt like I was in line forever and I was beginning to stress. And then I saw it, a shiny black Jeep with a tire cover that had the saying, "It's a good life." I just closed my eyes and I could feel the tension dissolve.

There is a quote in the movie that the narrator, Kay Eiffel, offers, "Harold's life was filled with moments both significant and mundane, but to Harold, those moments remained entirely indistinguishable."

That is so true. We are so busy or stuck in our routines, we don't notice the little things. It took all those little aggravating things that intruded on my routine to get me to the drive-through so I would see the black shiny Jeep with the tire cover that reminded me life is good.

Next time your day doesn't go exactly as planned, think about the chain of events that led you to the point of realization. It could make tomorrow a better day.

Have you had a Harold Crick moment? I want to know. E-mail me at mzimmerman@hickoryrecord.com.