Sweet Serendipity
On a recent trip to the UK, my main objective was to explore Rosslyn Chapel in Edinburgh, fraught with Templar and Masonic history as well as notoriety from The Da Vinci Code and special interest to me as regards my book The Red Serpent. The night before the tour we were cheaping it out at a London McDonald’s, when the fellow at the next table joined our discussion. Turns out he was a long time Mason who visits the Chapel frequently, and he pointed out many key features we shouldn’t miss. Before we all left, he and I shared the secret Masonic handshake. Later, my wife declared the man resembled the actor Jake Weber from TV’s “Medium.” I thought not, but she googled that Jake Weber is indeed a London native who had recently participated in a Masonic celebration in LA. So who knows?
In chilly Edinburgh weather several days later, armed with even more incentive to visit Rosslyn, we went to meet our huge, full-size expedition bus for the only tour that week. We soon discovered we were two of only three on the roster! Our driver explained that normally a group of three on a bus this huge would be cancelled, but for some inexplicable reason this day it would run as scheduled. We sat right near the very personable driver, who turned out to be vastly interesting and informed on centuries of Rosslyn history, legend, and myth.
Due to a confluence of serendipitous situations, our visit to Rosslyn Chapel had been staged and carried out against all odds. For this I will always be grateful to the universal powers that be.