In my case, I was perilously close to death after my carotid artery ruptured. This reassures us - of what? That everybody knows the script.

Newscasters, victims and their families alike praise the powers above. But there seems to be a narrative in these matters that requires the citing of divinity. How much better to say the outcome in Chile was the result of intelligence and good will. How much better to describe the rescue as the result of the fortitude of the miners and the skill of the good-willed people on the surface who reached them in what was, after all, a very short time.

The construction of the mine itself, so deep in the earth, was a much more impressive feat, but no one thought to describe that as a miracle.

One can sympathize with those who called it a miracle, but actually it was the result of perfectly understandable engineering techniques. In a year of sadness, it was a blessed moment. Like so many of us, I watched with joy as the miners emerged from their tomb, one after another.

What is the opposite of miracle