Being lucky
By
Aubrey Razon
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Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member @Doctor Alan.
According to Wikipedia, ‘luck’ is ‘the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones’.
In our society, we understand probability and know very well the consequences of ‘luck’ against us, not that it stops millions of people from emerging as second best in a battle with luck!
The history of luck:
Human beings have relied on ‘luck’ since very ancient times. The Ancient Chinese referred to ‘luck’ as ‘Fu’, which simply meant ‘Good Fortune’, on which natural phenomena and celestial occurrences had a direct bearing. In ancient Rome, ‘luck’ was deified in their worship of the goddess Fortuna.
Talismans and amulets were used in mediaeval times to attract ‘good fortune’, and this concept expanded into new belief systems.
Luck today:
It sounds pretty pathetic and flies in the face of a supposedly ‘civilised’ world, but many of us still ‘keep our fingers crossed’ to elicit good luck for ourselves or somebody we know.
How many of us say something like: ‘Rabits-rats, rabbits-rates’ on the first day of every month, to try to make the month a ‘lucky one’! If we can remember it, some of us do the old ‘Pinch-punch, first day of the month’ rhyme for the same reason, as we try to inflict pain on an unsuspecting partner!

Lucky charms, crossed fingers, or a cheeky rhyme… we’ve all got our rituals! Image source: Gustavo Fring/Pexels.
Also, do any of us admit to throwing salt over our shoulder if we spill it? (Salt is thrown over the left shoulder, after spilling it, to ward off bad luck. The superstition stems from the belief that the devil lurks behind the left shoulder, and throwing salt is thought to blind or deter him or her from causing further misfortune.)
Serious gamblers often have a ‘lucky troll doll’ or something similar.
The relationship between luck and success is a topic of ongoing discussion. Some argue that luck plays a significant role in achieving success, while others emphasise the importance of skill and hard work.
The distribution of luck!
As we journey through life’s rich tapestry, as they say, it does appear that some people ‘have all the luck’, while the rest of us can only struggle on, gladly receiving any small morsel of luck that happens to be sprinkled in our direction. I’ve watched many people simply ‘fall on their feet’ and be recognised as merely ‘being lucky’.
My experiences:
I’ve personally had a really wonderful life so far, and I think I’ve been extremely ‘lucky’. Of course, we make our own luck, sometimes, and just the opposite, most times!
However, in the fullness of time, most of us tend to remember the good things that have happened to us, and if we’re sensible, we don’t dwell on the nasty bits.
My all-time, over-the-top most amazing piece of luck was meeting my wife. It’s true. I’ll tell you how it came about.

Some people fall on their feet, and others meet their future wives while selling ice cream. Image source: Pixabay/Pexels.
It all started when I was very young, and at the end of Primary school (Woodmansterne, in Surrey, in what used to be called England). I was hopeless, and my teacher, Mr Keeble, wasted quite a bit of his air supply telling me so.
It was a bit like Marty McFly in Back to the Future: ‘You’ll never amount to anything…’ etc. Really designed to boost your confidence. Not. Maybe it’s the kick I needed – I didn’t like Mr Keeble, and was able to prove him wrong by getting a place at a Grammar school. I suppose that bit of ‘luck’ really sowed the seeds of my life’s path.
I managed to get to university, albeit not Oxford or Cambridge, but a place that suited me better and felt more down-to-earth.
University exams occurred in June, and the results came out in September, so students had all that time to worry about whether they’d passed or not. Like many students, I got a job at Butlins Holiday Camp, and I was paid more pocket money than wages, but it included board and lodging, at least.
I think the young lady who signed people in took a bit of a ‘shine’ to me for some unfathomable reason and got me placed as an Amusement Park Attendant instead of a shift-work ‘Kitchen Porter’ like all the other students. (Luck?)
I enjoyed the job so much that when my results came out and I found I’d ‘failed’ Part 1 of the BSc degree and had to find work to earn the money to sit the exam again, I went back to Butlins for the Easter break the following year. That job led me to work at the ‘Downs Ice Cream Company’ in Lancing, as a ‘Mr Softee’ driver. (I’ve left out a bit of detail here, involving a further exam failure – perhaps I was beginning to think Mr Keeble was right!)
Anyway, Frank Wilkinson, the owner of the ice cream company, found I could memorise the rounds of the other drivers quite quickly (I had a sort of ‘code’ I used), so he made me a ‘spare driver’ and I covered for all the other drivers who were on holiday or had a day off.

Even a rainy day can lead to something beautiful… like a lifelong love. Image source: SplitShire/Pexels.
On one of these times, I found myself in Brighton, and on a miserable, wet and cold Sunday in September, a lovely young girl came out for a tub of ice cream. I gave her extra soft ice cream, fruit and nuts, and that was that – until the following Tuesday when she came out again. I took her to a fairground that night, and she won one of those cuddly toy things. Was it a goldfish? I can’t remember.
Anyway, she must have been reasonably pleased, because I saw her almost every night after work. We got engaged that Christmas and married on Easter (on April 1!)
You see, it was really a very lucky sequence of events that led to this encounter – almost as if it was planned!
As far as those ‘failed’ studies are concerned, I don’t believe you’re ever a failure unless you simply give up.
I didn’t, and when the great Gough Whitlam abolished tertiary education fees, I took advantage of it and signed up to study for a B.E. (Bachelor of Engineering) degree, which I passed (none of that youthful time-wasting!), and later managed to study for a ‘fee-free PhD’ from Curtin University, and passed that in 2019. (It’s actually a ‘Doctor of Science Education SciEdD).
It just seemed to be another incredible bit of ‘luck’ to be able to make up for those other academic shortfalls without being hugely out of pocket with exorbitant fees.
We now live in Brisbane and were very lucky to sell our house in WA at exactly the right time to buy the beautiful home in which we now live.
It seems logical that for all the ‘good’ luck, there should be a fair bit of the ‘bad’.
I like to think that all the awful company managers and school principals I’ve had to put up with may have ‘balanced the books’ so to speak, but at any rate, my life’s certainly not over by a long chalk, and I fully expect to be just as ‘lucky’ in the remaining years. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
From the Editor:
Sometimes in life, things fall apart... only to fall into place. Whether it’s acing an exam you were sure you’d failed, or bumping into someone who’d change your life forever, luck has a funny way of sneaking into our stories.
This week’s reflection is a lovely reminder that the ‘lucky breaks’ we remember most often started with something going wrong. Do you believe in luck, or do you think we make our own? Let us know in the comments below!
Love Alan’s writing and want to read more? You might also like to read:
Are We All Liars?
The Coo of the Doves, The Hiss of the Guzunder
‘Till Death Us Do Part
Living in Retirement
Alan G.’s Member Spotlight: ‘Almost Famous’
The Ice Cream Job: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
The Lucky Man: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
‘Ten Pound Pom’ Hostel Living: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
Becoming a Better Driver by Accident!
Tech Talk with Dr Al: Accessibility Aids for the Home
Flying Round the World: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
Many Happy Returns of the Day!
Reaching for the Stars!
My great-grandfather’s journal of 1908: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
Pocket Money
University Days
Nasty Words and Silly Gestures
Up-Sticks and Move Interstate!