Mistakes

We all make mistakes. We're human. We turn at the wrong street in the dark. We forget to do something really important until it's too late. We make rash choices before thinking through the consequences.

If we're lucky, our mistakes aren't too serious and we can simply go along. Hopefully we learn something along the way, like how to carry a map and not trust the cheap GPS machine, or how to make reminders for things we need to do. For the important stuff – I mean the really, really important stuff – we need to stop and think it through.

Nurses working at a hospital need to check the medications they give out. Cops need to be careful approaching the window of a car they just pulled over for speeding. Firemen need to touch that door handle to see if it's hot before they open it.

As I'm researching the lives of John de Saulles and Blanca Errazuriz, I see the mistakes they made along the way. Their infatuation and impetuous marriage. Their failure to see each other for who they were instead of the illusion they hoped for. And of course, on that one fateful night... John made a mistake in not seeing the rage and frustration in her eyes when she came to his doorstep. Blanca made a mistake in carrying a loaded gun when she felt at the end of her rope.