For a long time, it was difficult for Ken and me to get away for a vacation because we needed to engage a caregiver for Linda, our developmentally-different daughter, who lived at home. To celebrate our anniversary every April, we made the effort.
A few years ago, I was intrigued when I read about a spring, senior-citizen, bus trip to Savannah, Georgia. I phoned the number listed in the newspaper and learned it was already filled, but they could put me at the head of a waiting list they were compiling. It wasn’t long before I received a call informing me that they had a cancellation–we could go. I was elated.
As I thought about what I would need to pack, I realized some other couple probably had an illness that forced them to rescind their reservations. Their problem created our blessing.
Whether we call it fortune, chance or luck, it’s an external, arbitrary force affecting human affairs and comes in two varieties–good and bad.
After a baseball game, one group of fans cheers the winning team while the other bemoans losing. Skill is important in every contest but luck always plays a part.
Many professions rely on peoples’ misfortunes. Doctors of various specialties make a good living treating illness and injury. Police officers and firefighters are called when a constituent has a problem. If a car or an appliance won’t run, we fume a bit and engage a repairman. The same thing occurs when our electronic gadgets fail to respond.
Friends and relatives mourn the death of a loved one; but sons and daughters may gain property or a business. Bequests might help grandchildren attend college. Many non-profit organizations are benefactors from a prominent person’s will.
When has your good luck been at the expense of another’s bad?