What does that mean?

“Say•ing” noun — a short pithy expression that generally contains advice, insight or wisdom. Often provoking questions from young minds.

— Oxford dictionary. And the voice of personal experience.

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“What does that mean, what you said about the sun, the moon, and the stars lining up,” daughter, Robin, asked? One time back when she and I were both much younger. A long time ago.

“It’s just an old saying,” I explained. “Sage old sayings spice up conversations a little and can be a memorable method of illustrating a point.”

“But how can the sun and the moon line up,” was her next question. “The sun is only here in the day and the moon is here only at night.” My daughter’s questions kept me on my toes. Day and night. From the time she learned to talk.

“Well …,” I began. Which was the way I usually started any time I didn’t have a ready answer. “I took this astronomy class in college,” I said. “I was looking for an easy elective …”

“You don’t know, do you,” she interrupted.

“Sort of; it’s a really rare occurrence when things happen like they are supposed to,” I said in a humorous tone. After a pause, I added, “Like when you clean your room, make your bed, and complete all of your homework in one day.”

“So, you mean stuff that never happens,” she laughed. “Then why did you tell someone on the phone that the sun, the moon, and the stars aligned for you last week?”

The adventure behind that statement started with a business trip to Fort Payne, Alabama on Tuesday with a return flight on Thursday. The same day as the Center Noon Lions Club meeting. I’ve been a member of Lions Clubs in several cities over the years, more in Center than anywhere else. Through those years, perfect attendance was never my strong suit. But it was one I set as a goal for that year. The year I served as the Center civic club’s president.

Many suns and moons ago.

“It was just the luck of the draw that my meeting was set for a Wednesday,” I told Robin.

“What’s luck of the draw,” she asked? “Good luck or bad luck?”

“It could go either way,” I said. “In this case, “I hated to miss a Lions Club meeting. I had a flight planned that should work, but it would be close. So, I told the club vice president I should be back, but don’t bet the farm on it.

“Dad, we don’t have a farm,” Robin laughed.

 “Well … yeah,” I admitted. The business meeting ended late Wednesday with dinner, and my dash back to Shelby County began early the following day. Although I was not optimistic about getting back in time for the meeting, I had a plan. A long shot that started with a 7 a.m. flight from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“Up at 4 a.m. in Alabama and on the road in 30 minutes got me to Chattanooga by 5:30. Where I discovered that the check-in desk for the airline I booked did not open until 6:30.

“So, they can open at 6:30 a.m. and get me on a 7 a.m. flight,” I chatted with a security guard.”

“Most of the time, he drawled. Them leaving by 7:00? Now that’s a horse of a different color.”

“Dad,” Robin interjected, “What’s a horse of a …?”

“Well … that means we got off the ground not too long after 7. Headed for Memphis. Where we landed. Not too far off schedule. I found the gate to board the connecting flight to Shreveport and learned that the last leg of the flight was delayed.

“Weather problems, according to the nice lady at the terminal gate. The flight is coming from St. Louis and was delayed leaving, she said. The good news was that it had departed and the delay into Shreveport was probably not be more than an hour.

“I tried to display an appreciative smile with my ‘thank you.’”

“The flight from St. Louis to Shreveport, with a stop in Memphis, finally arrived. Late. After unloading and reloading, we were in the air. A short time later, I looked down to see Cross Lake and Interstate 20 pass below. We were landing at Shreveport.

“In my car at precisely 11:00 a.m., I decided to go with an old pig trail cutting through the countryside from the airport to Bethany, where Louisiana transforms back into Texas.”

“A pig trail,” Robin quizzed me?

“Well … just another old saying,” I said. “At the exact time the meeting was supposed to start, I walked in, gave the vice president a thumbs up, picked up the gavel, and began the meeting.

“Guys, I announced, you’ll never believe how far I’ve traveled this morning to be here at this exact moment.”

Concluding the story, I told Robin, “So, you see how everything happening in just the right order and right time is a reference to the sun and moon and the stars aligning and how it happened just in the nick of time to keep my perfect attendance record going.”

“OK, but what does in the nick of time mean,” she asked?

“Well …. I think that one means, Robin, have you cleaned your room?”