The Butterfly Effect

Jason Campbell finished mowing the yard of the two-story house he and his bride, Heather, had just purchased and took 36 seconds to sit on the front step to wipe his brow and admire the monarchs flirting with the coneflowers.

Had Jason admired the monarchs flirting with the coneflowers for either 35 or 37 seconds, he might not have tripped over Sammy, their miniature schnauzer a few minutes later while taking off his sweaty t-shirt heading for the upstairs shower, and therefore, might not have snapped his neck tumbling off the balcony to the living room below; had Jason not snapped his neck while tumbling off the balcony to the living room below while taking off his sweaty t-shirt heading for the upstairs shower, a despondent and depressed Heather might not have chased down the whole bottle of Xanax, prescribed for grief, with a whole bottle of Absolut Lemon so she could be with her groom forever; had Heather not chased down the whole bottle of Xanax, prescribed for grief, with a whole bottle of Absolut Lemon so she could be with her groom forever, there might have been 357 more continuous payments on their 30-year mortgage, co-signed by Jason’s parents; had Jason’s parents not co-signed for the 30-year mortgage, they might not have gone broke trying to maintain two households; had they not gone broke trying to maintain two households, the bank might not have foreclosed on both properties and lost money; had the bank not lost money on both foreclosed properties, it might not have fired the person in the loan department for making unwise investment decisions; had the person in the bank’s loan department not have gotten fired for making unwise investment decisions, her oldest son, Darrell might not have turned to armed robbery to support the family; had Darrell not been arrested for armed robbery to support his family, he might not have been sentenced 10 - 20 in lock-up; had Darrell not been sentenced 10 - 20 in lock-up, his conviction might not have been overturned because an appellate judge decided he didn’t match the crook caught on tape; because an appellate judge decided Darrell didn’t match the crook caught on tape, but spent six years of his 10 - 20 in lock-up anyway, he was awarded 6.5 million dollars from the state for false imprisonment; had he not been awarded 6.5 million dollars from the state for false imprisonment, Darrell might not have had the cash to buy a seaside villa in St. Croix; had Darrell not had the cash to buy a seaside villa in St. Croix, he might not have gotten swept out to sea with a riptide and drowned; had the seaside villa in St. Croix not been up for sale because the previous owner had gotten swept out to sea by a riptide and drowned, Logan Benedict and his wife Bethany might not have purchased it for winter getaways; had they not purchased the seaside villa for winter getaways, Logan Benedict might not be serving life in a Rhode Island penitentiary for strangling his wife after he found videos on her iPhone of her doing a St. Croix pool boy; had Logan Benedict not been serving life in a Rhode Island penitentiary for strangling Bethany after he found videos on her iPhone of her doing a St. Croix pool boy, he might not have written the best-selling cookbook, Sloppish to Snobbish - Prison Food Gone Gourmet, creating the latest trend for high-end eateries; had Logan Benedict not written the best-selling cookbook Sloppish to Snobbish - Prison Food Gone Gourmet, he might not have earned 15.2 million dollars in royalties and merchandising rights; had he not earned 15.2 million dollars in royalties and merchandising rights, he might not have had to donate all the money to a charity of his choice because inmates aren't allowed an income; because inmates aren't allowed an income, Logan Benedict donated all the money he made on his best-selling cookbook to Rhode Island high schools for his Sloppish to Snobbish scholarship fund; because he started a scholarship fund, a science whiz kid named Keisha Montgomery received a four-year, full-ride to Johns Hopkins University; because Keisha Montgomery received a four-year, full-ride to Johns Hopkins University, she earned her BS, then her MS, then her PhD there; because she earned her BS, then her MS, then her PhD at Johns Hopkins University, Keisha Montgomery stayed on at the renowned medical facility in Baltimore, determined to find a cure for juvenile brain tumors; because she found a cure for juvenile brain tumors, 7-year-old Natalie Mills is alive and well; because 7-year old juvenile brain tumor survivor Natalie Mills is alive and well, it allows her to sit on the front step of her family’s two-story house and admire the monarchs flirting with the coneflowers.

By CraigE

From: United States