My Lucky Day

Thought for the day:  I've done the calculations, and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not.  [Fran Lebowitz]

Are you superstitious? Do you stay in bed every Friday the thirteenth and walk a mile out of your way just to avoid a black cat?

Nah, me neither.

How about signs and omens? Believe in them?

Ordinarily, I don't pay them much mind, but sometimes they're so blatant, it's impossible to ignore them. Like last Wednesday.

The notion that it was my lucky day kept smacking me in the head... again and again. Lady Luck kept yelling in my ear, and I'm pretty sure she was telling me to buy a lottery ticket. Or a bookmark, as we call it in our house.

Let me tell you about it.

You know what Wednesday is, don't ya? It's senior discount day, and if you wanta know what I think about that, you can read about it right here. So anyhow, I got all dressed up in a clean tee shirt and cut-offs to go to the bank and grocery store. And whattaya know? There sat a four-leaf clover right there on my dressy flip-flops.

A propitious start to a lucky day, wouldn't you say?

I have no idea how that horseshoe landed in our front yard. But, woo HOO... another good sign! Especially since I didn't break my toes when I smashed into it with my flip-flop-clad foot.

When I limped into the bank, get this! There was no line. None. Nada, zip, zilch, zero. Not another customer in sight. Just me, and a bunch of smiling tellers.

That has NEVER happened to me before. Never.

Spooky, huh?

Then, holy moley, outta the blue, the palm of my hand started itching. Just like that, for no reason. You know what that means, dontcha?

It means money. An itchy palm means you're gonna get some money.

Okay, so technically, I was in the bank to cash a check, so I got some money because of that... but still, it could've been a sign that I should buy a lottery ticket, right?

My teller thought so.

Now this is just scary. In the grocery store, I didn't get run over by a single blue-haired lady. Nobody blocked the aisles, and I (gasp) found everything I was looking for. But here's the clincher: when I paid for the groceries, guess how much change I got? Eight dollars and eighty-eight cents! Three eights! Three lucky eights. (Ask anyone from China...) And my last car tag? It had three eights on it, too.

What? Yeah, yeah, I know I'm not Chinese. Hush. Whose story is this, anyway?

So, natch, when I was driving home, I was considering the string of good omens that had been pummeling me ever since I left the house. Should I buy a lottery ticket?

Then I heard a train whistle.

Dare I say it? Yet another good sign! As I sat beside the train track with my frozen vegetables melting in the trunk, I considered how lucky I was that it was such a fast-moving train. And only one hundred and six cars long.

Kismet kicked me in the keister again. Buy a ticket! it screeched.

Wait, no. It didn't screech. That was the train. When it stopped. But it didn't sit there all that long. Only about fifteen minutes or so. Lucky, right?

I was almost home when I saw it. Not just a rainbow... a double rainbow.

And it wasn't even raining.


So what do you think? Did I buy a ticket and win a kazillion dollars?

After all...
Fortune cannot aid those who do nothing. [Sophocles]

Nah. I went home and had a nice cuppa tea. Hey... that's something. Like somebody smart said, (No, I don't remember who said it... I'm not that smart) The only sure way to double your money is to fold it and stick it back in your pocket.

Euripides said, Fortune truly helps those who are of good judgement. And my judgement was to take Brian Koslow's advice. He said, Forget the lottery. Bet on yourself instead. 

Yep, works for me! Besides, we already have more than enough bookmarks around here.

Know what? A positive attitude can determine what kind of day you have. The way I see it, any day my hubby and I wake up and we're both still here... that's a doggone lucky day in my book. Life is good.

                                   Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

[Thanks to the fine folks at Wikipedia, morguefile, seniorark, and icanhascheezburger for the use of their images.]