Word-Of-the-Week #988: Lucky
July 13, 2023 by Susan Clarke
Lucky – to experience good fortune.
Do you consider yourself to be a lucky person? Do good things happen to you? Do you believe in Karma? What goes around comes around?
Today I am celebrating the 19th anniversary of my WOW’s, and this is the word that came up for me!
I have a great cartoon clipping that reads, “Good luck is being in the right place at the right time with enough money.” There are many more great quotes. Do you have a favorite one?
My mother told me from the time I can remember that I was lucky. And I consider myself to be a very lucky person. I always get prime parking spots. If you have ever attended one of my programs, or driven with me, you’ve probably heard about or seen my “Parking Fairy, Towanda.” She is always in my car with me! And she even appears in other cars I’m riding in. We always find a spot. 🙂
While I have been very lucky for most of my travels, I learned the hard way that tourists are targets. Their purses, their pockets, their bags, their wallets, their cameras, anything of value. The first time I flew internationally, in 1984, I learned you can never let your bags out of your sight. Somewhere between checking out of the hotel in Paris and arriving at the airport my camera bag with all my equipment and film was gone.
In 1996, in Rome, I learned never to put all valuables in one bag. While waiting in line for a taxi, I got distracted watching the birds flying in formation and almost had my carryon bag snatched out of my hand. All the airline tickets, passports, jewelry, and money were in that bag. I now split those items up and put them in multiple places.
I also never carry money or credit cards except in transit, and they never leave my possession. I assume everyone is out to rob me and I always put everything in the safe immediately upon arrival. (I have also learned the hard way to clear out the safe before checking out.)
I had never been violated in my hotel room until 2010 in Namibia. In broad daylight my purse was snatched off the bed. I was in the bathroom and the door was open. New lesson learned: never stay in rooms that are vulnerable to the street. Every place we had stayed so far was gated and walled, clearly for that reason.
When my purse was stolen, I believed I would get it back. The owner of the B&B across the street was pulling out of his driveway and took the young men who spotted the thieves into town. When I returned from my tour later that day sure enough my purse was at the front desk. The bad news was it was completely empty. The good news is I had taken my phone out to charge it.
The only thing of real value were my prescription sunglasses. I said, “It serves those little thieves right. They are of no use and worthless to them.” Then I thought, “They will pitch them in a trash can.” Our driver and guide took me downtown and we started digging through the trash cans in the six-block area where the thieves had been spotted. I kept thinking to myself, “I am a lucky person and I will find my sunglasses.” And sure enough after ten trash cans I found them. Would you have done that? (My husband Chris thought I was totally crazy thinking I could even find them.)
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” – Chinese Proverb
This week is all about your lucky stories. When was the last time you experienced good fortune? Do you get good parking spots too? Do you have good Karma?
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