Since I returned from the Pacific Northwest – Whidbey Island, specifically – and the incredibly healthy eating style of the folks at Aldermarsh Retreat Center, I’ve been really, really good. I’m weaned off caffeine, mostly, thanks to a week spent without diet Coke™. I’m cooking organic these days and visiting restaurants far less. Basically, I’m becoming a nuts and berries kind of person. I’d fit in well out there.

And that feels really good. Or it did until Monday, when I had a doctor’s appointment smack in the middle of a busy day, which meant I had a light breakfast at 6 a.m. and then never made it to a lunchable spot until 2:45 p.m. That’s 3+ hours after normal in my world. When I passed Tim Horton’s, I envisioned panini sandwiches dancing in my head, quickly joined by a chorus line of pastries and donuts. I was hungry, and in my low-carb daze, I stumbled toward the door.

There, right by the curb, was a lonely Oreo™ cookie and a cigarette butt, neither of them looking very random. Still Life: Cookie With Cigarette. … or maybe Two Vices Are Better Than One. Whatever. I passed them by and reached for the restaurant door. Then I noticed the hastily scrawled note.

“Due to Electrical Issues, We Will Be Unable To Heat Any Sandwiches Until After 5 p.m.”

Seriously?

I went in, but when you’re hangry, it’s pretty easy to get out of sorts in an instant. Irked, I immediately turned and walked back out, oddly determined to find healthier fare, not to mention a restaurant with working equipment. It wasn’t until I passed that sidewalk still life that I realized why. It was just another awesome Quantum Flirt at work. The universe winked at me with humor and, in my hangry state, I nearly missed it.

Grateful for such a visual reminder of health in the guise of a discarded cookie with its burned up companion. Hangry or not, I traveled another few miles to find an open-faced turkey sandwich with fruit, washed down with a big glass of ice water.