On Chance

George Harrison, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney, in Liverpool, in 1958 (Photo by Mike McCartney)

Paul McCartney, in his wonderful “Writing ‘Eleanor Rigby’ ” (The New Yorker, October 25, 2021), talks about the role chance played in the founding of the Beatles. He says,

To this very day, it still is a complete mystery to me that it happened at all. Would John and I have met some other way, if Ivan and I hadn’t gone to that fête? I’d actually gone along to try and pick up a girl. I’d seen John around—in the chip shop, on the bus, that sort of thing—and thought he looked quite cool, but would we have ever talked? I don’t know. As it happened, though, I had a school friend who knew John. And then I also happened to share a bus journey with George to school. All these small coincidences had to happen to make the Beatles happen, and it does feel like some kind of magic. It’s one of the wonderful lessons about saying yes when life presents these opportunities to you. You never know where they might lead.

So true! I’m always amazed at how chance defines our lives. In my own case, I’m thinking of how I ended up living on Prince Edward Island. It all began on a spring day in 1976. I’d just finished writing my last exam of the term. I left the classroom, walked out into the sunshine, but instead of going down the school’s front steps and heading home, as I normally did, I paused on the landing. Maybe I was still mulling over my answer to the last exam question. I was standing there when I heard my name called. A student in my class, Wayne MacLean, came up to me. “What did you think of that?” he asked. I told him I thought I might’ve blown the last question. We discussed the exam for a few minutes. Then Wayne asked me if I had any plans for the summer. I said no, nothing yet. I told him I’d looked for an articling job in Halifax, but no luck so far. He said he was going to PEI for the summer. His girlfriend lived there and he’d got an articling position with a firm in Charlottetown. He said, “Why don’t you come with me? You could probably catch on with a firm there, too. Summers are great there, beaches, girls – it’ll be a blast!" I laughed. I’d never been to PEI, knew nothing about it other than the usual clichés – Land of Anne of Green Gables, Million Acre Farm, Cradle of Confederation. I didn’t know anyone there – no connections whatsoever. But it was an intriguing offer. I told Wayne I’d think it over and get back to him. That night, I discussed it with my parents (I was still living at home at the time). They were totally supportive of the idea. My mother said she’d even loan me her car for the summer. That clinched it. I decided to go to PEI. I got an articling job in Charlottetown and had a great summer. The next year, after graduating, I went back. For the next twenty-four years, I lived there, worked there, married, and raised a family. It’s where I live today. It’s my home. All this flowing from that moment of pure happenstance, on the steps of the Weldon Law Building, when Wayne MacLean called my name.