Non Sequiturs

Just what do you mean by the term coincidence? asked Pliny the Elder.

What do you mean by it? I countered.

I mean a noteworthy event that occurs in conjunction with another event such as to suggest a connection of cause and effect, although no apparent connection of the kind exists.

Alright, I agree with that, I said. Why do you ask?

Because, he said, you called your blog yesterday Coincidences on a Windy Day, and yet it seemed to me to consist of a series of non sequiturs.

Well, think again, I said. There were at least three. The man up the tree and the koala up the tree. Coincidence. The wind and the Wind Ensemble. Coincidence. The lady spotting the koala and the fact that she was about to knock on our front door. Coincidence.

It is you who must think again, said Pliny. The first two are merely correspondences. The third consists of two unrelated events.

Not unrelated, I said. The lady related the events. Therein lies the coincidence. And there's something else you don't know. She said she only noticed the koala because she'd seen a man taking a photo of something up in the tree.

When was this? asked Pliny.

About 5 o'clock, I answered. Why? Oh my goodness! Don't tell me it was you?

No, said Pliny. It wasn't.