Circle 29

Last Friday didn't end up the way I thought it would. What made me put that song—Circle 29—on repeat all day? In the end, the reason became evident. God sent a message

By the time I saw them, it was already too late.

In the greyness of early dusk, the brown and grey coat of the deer blended in perfectly with the bushes and trees that they were standing behind. There was a group of them, maybe five or more I realized only later.

It wasn’t dark enough for me to see the reflection of their eyes yet, which I usually carefully scan for on both sides of the road while driving at night. They were well camouflaged.

I was driving home down a lonely country road, and the lead deer decided that the other side of the road is where he wanted to be. Right. Now.

So, the first one leaped out—clearing half the road in a single leap. I saw it cross in front of me, left to right, and there was just enough distance left, so I kept my cool and braked sharply.

I thought I got lucky—I missed it.

But the others that I didn’t see off to my left were still leaping to follow. If I hadn’t slowed down, I still wouldn’t have likely hit the one in front; but because I did slow down, one of the others—which might otherwise have just cleared my car to the rear—instead rammed headlong into the side of my car.

I couldn’t safely stop right there, but I could see the deer spin around and slide off the road into the tall grass. My heart wanted it to be just shaken up, but my head said: “that wasn’t survivable.” When I looked at the dashcam later that night, I saw another one leap 10 feet high and cross almost the entire road 15 feet behind my car.

Where we live out in the countryside, deer collisions are a daily occurrence; last year I read that our county was among the highest in the nation for deer collisions. Deer are in many ways elegant creatures, but they are also very dumb. I do the best I can to avoid harming God’s creatures, and for all of my life until now, I was blessed to never have hit a deer.

The car was drivable, and I made it home just as it got dark. A week went by before I got the call to bring the car into a body shop for an estimate. There was supposed to be a rental car agency rep on the premises of the body shop, but that day they didn’t have anyone there.

Since it would take time to order parts, the estimator told me to just keep my car one more night and bring it back the same time tomorrow.

So, I did. They still didn’t have a rental agent on site that day, but one of the young service techs volunteered to drive me to Enterprise rental car. He was a curious and sharp young man, and we had some good conversations on the way there about AI and the future of the world. It took away some of my grumpiness about being inconvenienced again, but still…the irritations were compounding.

The next day, I drove the rental to work. About mid-day, Emily called: she was out running errands with E., on the way to horse camp, and our other car — a 2018 GMC pickup truck — was now making strange noises.

The fan kept running for a few minutes after the engine shut off. We both used AI chats to try to diagnose the problem, and both came back with “likely a thermostat issue.” A while later, Emily called again and said that now the A/C was out, and the temperature gauge was stuck all the way left, at low temp. The problem had gotten worse.

“Great.” I thought. Now both of our cars are out of commission. What bad luck. I was in the middle of finishing up some code I was working on, and in another window, I kept digging for explanations using AI for what to do about the truck.

In the meantime, Emily took it to AutoZone and one of the techs there hooked up a “code reader” to pull the codes. Sure enough… “thermostat” came back as the likely issue, along with two other codes. Score one for Grok.

I told her to take the truck over to her parents’ house when she was done with errands, and I’d swap her for the rental car so that I could take the truck somewhere for service. Then I went back to AutoZone, gave them the printout she’d gotten from them earlier, and bought a replacement thermostat and some antifreeze for about a hundred bucks.

Then I went a mile down the road to Muffler Man, whom they suggested might be able to do the installation.

The place was pretty rough; not a high-end service station for sure, and it was on one of the busiest roads in town. There was loud rap music blaring from the work bays, it was hot and grimy, and the techs looked grumpy.

It was mid-day on a Friday. I asked the lady at the counter if they could get the thermostat put it before close, and she said “it’ll be tight…but…yeah. We can do it.” She told me it would be about three hundred bucks. I gulped, sighed, and resigned myself. “It is…what it is.”

There were other people waiting in the lobby, and there was a Lowes hardware store just next door. It was a hot day, the A/C in the truck hadn’t been working, so I figured I would go wander through a hardware store that had A/C for an hour while they did their work.

I came back after an hour, and the truck was still right where I left it. I went back in, saw the paper on the counter with my keys still sitting there untouched—so I sighed, pulled out my phone to surf, and took a seat because there was only one customer left ahead of me.

I watched the techs go back and forth and heard them give the lady at the counter a hard time. One slammed a box with a replacement part on the counter: “I don’t need this.” Apparently, another tech had driven many miles to another parts store earlier to get that part. The crew were tattooed, had chips on their shoulders, and wanted to be somewhere else besides working in a hot service bay on a Friday.

They were a surly bunch, and they didn’t care that the owner of the car they were working on was in earshot listening to them complain. Customer service was definitely not Job One for them that day. I glanced over at the owner of the other car; he rolled his eyes and looked pleadingly at the lady behind the counter. “What is going on? Are they giving up on my car?”

She dashed out to follow the tech to try to save face. As she came back, another rough looking guy came to the counter, with neck tattoos, complaining to her that he had been doing most of the jobs that day—what were the other techs doing, he demanded? He was frustrated and on edge.

I thought “Great. He’s the one that is going to pick up my ticket to work on next.” And sure enough, just as that thought crossed my mind—he picked up my papers and my key. He glanced at the paper, looked over at me, and in irritated voice asked, “who told you this was a thermostat issue?”

I told him the guys over at AutoZone had pulled the codes, and that’s what they said it was; I described the symptoms Emily had experienced with it; I didn’t know any more. I was humble and polite, trying to make the best of a bad day.

“Follow me”, the tech said, and we went outside while he grilled me more about the symptoms. “That’s not a thermostat issue. It’s the temperature sensor.” He grabbed the keys and growled “my computer is better than their cheap one. I’ll pull the codes myself and tell you what’s up. And it’s going to be the temperature sensor.”

So, he pulls the truck into the service bay, and I wandered back into the lobby to wait. A few minutes later—ignoring the sign that says “No customers in the service bay”—he waggles a finger in a “follow me” manner, and stomps over to the truck.

The hood was up, and his computer was hooked in. “See…it was the temperature sensor” he says sharply and self-confidently. “I cleared the codes and…your truck is fine. There’s not actually a problem, but it might fail again in a few weeks. For now, everything’s working.”

He takes off the computer, take a few steps away, and looks down at me, sideways. “You know, I could just charge you whatever for this. But…I’m going to tear up the ticket. I’m not going to charge you anything.”

In that instant, God told me what to do. I reached into my pocket while he was turned away putting away his tools, grabbed a $50 dollar bill, and waited to lock eyes with him, palming the fifty.

“I had a really shitty day, today”, I said. “But YOU…. aren’t going to.”

And I handed him the fifty. His expression softened and he relaxed. He was a rough looking guy, irritated to be overworked on a hot Friday, but he was HONEST. He did the right thing. And God told me to reward that.

So, I smiled as he took the money, and I said “Thanks, man. You’re all right.”

And I got in the truck and backed out of the service bay.

The A/C was working again, and I plugged in my phone and started to drive off. The song that I had been listening to on repeat all day came back on, and I drove back to work in silence, first going back to AutoZone to get a refund.

In the end, the whole ordeal cost me nothing but time. But it came with a lesson, as I would later figure out.

It was almost 5pm, but I headed back to work, because a guy who does cleaning for the property management company that I work at was waiting for me to print him a check (he always comes on Friday to get paid) and I wanted to be sure he was taken care of before I headed for home.

The music kept playing, and it soothed me. This was the song. After I got the check printed for the cleaner, I told him some of the day’s story. I told him about the whisper from God, about what I was moved to do to reward someone’s honesty.

After he left, a thought entered my mind. What was the meaning of “Circle 29”?

Why had I been listening to that song on repeat all day?

So I asked Grok.

Grok said:

1. Numerological and Spiritual Meaning of 29
In numerology, the number 29 is significant, combining the energies of 2 (harmony, cooperation, duality) and 9 (wisdom, spiritual enlightenment, humanitarianism). The "circle" in this context could emphasize the cyclical, infinite nature of these qualities.

Key interpretations include:

Spiritual Growth and Transformation: The number 29 is often seen as a call to spiritual awakening, encouraging introspection, trust in intuition, and personal evolution. The circle reinforces this as a symbol of eternity and the continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It suggests you’re on a path toward enlightenment, with the Universe guiding you through change.

Compassion and Humanitarianism: 29 urges nurturing relationships and engaging in altruistic acts. The circle could represent community and unity, highlighting the importance of connecting with others to foster growth and empathy. It’s a reminder to stay humble and help those in need.

Intuition and Balance: Associated with the Moon in astrology, 29 is linked to heightened intuition and emotional sensitivity. The circle symbolizes balance and harmony, suggesting a need to align your inner and outer worlds.

2. Angel Number 29

In spiritual circles, 29 is considered an "angel number," a divine message from guardians or the Universe. Paired with "circle," it might symbolize a complete cycle of divine guidance. Meanings include:

New Beginnings and Change: Seeing 29 repeatedly (e.g., on clocks, receipts) may signal that angels are encouraging you to embrace transformation, take risks, and trust the process. The circle suggests these changes are part of a larger, eternal plan.

Love and Relationships: For love, 29 indicates harmony and new phases in relationships, whether finding a partner or deepening existing bonds. The circle could symbolize the eternal nature of love or a "twin flame" connection.

Professional Shifts: It may point to career changes or pursuing your true calling, with the circle representing fulfillment and completion in your work.

Yes. Circle 29, indeed. I understood now.

I have said, now and then, that “Sometimes, God sends Men to do the work of Angels. Sometimes, he sends Angels to do the work of Men.”

What I realized, after reading the meaning of Circle 29, was this:

What happened that day wasn’t about me, or Emily, or the truck, or the frustration, or the inconvenience and the bother of it all. It wasn’t about any of that.

It was about the mechanic.

God needed that mechanic to receive a message: Truth and Honesty matter. I was simply blessed to have been the messenger.

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