This was going to be an easy relaxed blog after a delightful day at Stratford to see The Mad Woman of Chaillot. A friend picked me up and we were in plenty of time for a 2 o'clock matinee performance. But we juddered to a stop on the highway maybe an hour out of Stratford with a flat (possibly vandalised) tire. CAA was on its way but a nice man in a truck stopped and changed the tire. He said, "God told me to stop and help," so he did. I guess the Houston disaster didn't take all God's attention.

So we were too late to get to the theatre after driving the donut tire to a service station to have enough air put into it. So we went back to Toronto and had a late lunch and even though I wasn't doing the driving, I was - am - tired.

Best made plans and all that. I seem to be more aware than I ever was of the moments that can change plans or lives. But I am more acutely aware of our dependence on other people. Remember Blanche Dubois' line (A Streetcar Named Desire): "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." My heart turns over at the sight of the assistance and care strangers are giving the flood victims in Houston - turns over and lightens as my belief in such kindness is proven.

I admire Steven Pinker, Canadian-born, author and Psychology Professor at Harvard University. His book The Better Angels of Our Nature is worth reading and re-reading. It may not seem so but Pinker applies statistics to support his argument. We - human beings - are getting "better",

I hope so.