Sunday, June 20, 2021

LUCKY ? -- FATHER'S DAY -- JUNETEENTH

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all those great Dad's that many are fortunate enough to have, or had in their lives.  I'm pretty sure from all accounts both of my grandfathers were great Dads.  Unfortunately, my grandfathers had departed this earth before I was born or had a chance to know them.

JUNETEENTH DAY was declared an official national holiday beginning the 19th.  The commemoration recognizes the final end of slavery, that hadn't been established in every state until two years after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 during the Civil War.

LUCKY ?    

Are some people luckier than others?  

Lucky is said by some to stress chance bringing about a favorable result.   

One online library definition differentiates between chance and luck.  

"Chance-oriented persons decide according to given or estimated odds that define the decision problem.

"Luck-oriented persons, on the other hand, rely on self-attributions of personal luck, and ignore the probabilities of decision outcomes"

Luck is often associated with gain or loss through gambling which I think must be a luck-oriented activity.   On the other hand, some forms of gambling as offered at casinos are said to offer a greater chance at winning than others.   The slot machines, which are the only games I've ever played in casinos, I understand to offer the least chance of winning.   

Drawings winning odds can vary based on the number of entries.  Possibly the least chance of winning a drawing can be found in some of the various U.S. state lotteries that have been offered in recent decades.  The potential $$$ winnings can be very attractive despite the odds. 

I think I'm basically a chance-oriented person although my occasional drawing participations and slot machine gambling may carry an element of being luck-oriented, though I didn't seriously expect to win.  (Maybe my lack of believing I would win adversely affected my odds -- introducing another element).  Of course, my slot machine gambling and years past friendly poker-playing card games occasionally with family members and friends had been for fun.  

I've never considered myself to be unusually lucky when it comes to casino gambling or in drawings.  I have won two drawings in my life.  One when I was in my twenties soon after I had purchased my first car.  The nearby newly opened Gulf gas station I had begun frequenting had a drawing (obviously only few entries) where I won a boy's bicycle.  I sold it.

Many years later after moving to the west I entered a drawing at a local news stand/video rental store I occasionally visited.  I was surprisingly delighted to win a transistor radio, especially since they were not inexpensive as the latest new tech device of the time before personal computers.   Months later my enjoyment was short-lived when our house was broken into with the thieves stealing my radio along with a journal gifted to me in which I had just started writing.  

I recall many years ago, soon after I was wed, attending the annual meeting of a business organization associated with my husband's work then.  Before we joined the other three owners and their wives at our table, my husband mentioned to me that the wife of one of the senior owners seemed to be uncannily lucky and just about always won when they had drawings.  Sure enough, from the hundred or more people present her name was drawn for one of the prime prizes.

Then, there are the gamblers like Marlon Brando's character who sang "Luck Be A Lady Tonight" in the movie version of the Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls". 


An acquaintance recently told me of her experiences going to the casinos with her much more affluent younger sister who she believes to be especially lucky.  Their most recent visit the "lucky" sister won some big bucks though my acquaintance is the one who really could have used the financial boost.   Her sister did share a portion of her winnings though my acquaintance said she was reluctant to accept the generosity since she wasn't inclined to accept such gifts.   

A friend of mine seems to have the magic touch when it comes to slot machines.  They've occasionally traveled to casinos, including Las Vegas for years during visits to family residing there.  They usually stop in a casino before returning home.  She, but not her husband, generally wins enough in only a short time to minimally gain the cost of their trip -- driving expenses, hotel bills if they've chosen to stay in one which they frequently do, dining out costs, and sometimes even more on their overnight or several day jaunts.  They have no really big wins but rare are the occasions when she hasn't won enough to cover all their travel outlay.  

Those are a few examples of individuals who may be considered to meet the criteria of some for being "lucky" that come to my mind.  

Do some people you know seem to be luckier than others?

Do you think you are a more chance or luck-oriented person?  


17 comments:

  1. The Indian equivalent for luck and / or chance is karma and I am naturally, a strong believer in that. When I reflect on my life I find that many things that happened to me were out of the ordinary and what I am today is due to some mysterious chain of events that I can't explain away. In terms of gambling, I have had my share of playing cards for money and going to the horse races including part owning a horse and was reasonably successful till my absences drove my late wife to get me to give up both activities to spend time with our growing son. I have no regrets now and yes, I know many people who seem to be luckier than others. The former lot includes me too.

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    1. Having karma is sometimes referred to here in the U. S.

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  2. Not sure which side of the fence I land. When I moved to Arkansas, they didn't have lottery and since I was use to playing it in Florida, I drove about 50 miles each week to cross the boarder to Missouri to get my ticket. It was a lovely drive that I enjoyed. While there, I would also get a scratch off. I always won enough on the instant scratch off to pay for my gas and meal so it was a free trip. The girls at the store would say-"here comes lucky." when I walked in. Never won the big one though and my luck only works in Missouri. Since Arkansas has started selling lottery tickets, I haven' won enough to eat out at MacDonald's but still play.

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    1. That’s curious, so guess you best keep going to Missouri if you’re going to play the lottery and want to win.

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  3. I don't think of either chance or luck when I make decisions. I just weigh up all the relevant factors and make what seems to be the best decision. But luck has certainly been a consistent factor in my life. Our 21 year old TV is one we won in a lucky draw. I met Jenny when she got a job at the same bookshop I was working in. I had a trace of prostate cancer which disappeared a year or so later. And we were able to buy this house because my mum sold her house and gave me part of the proceeds. I could go on!

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    1. Interesting variety of experiences.

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  4. I am not that lucky either. I won an ashtray (I don't smoke) and a big decorative bowl that I really couldn't put food in and I am not a fan of stuff that collects dust.

    Las Vegas is lost on me. I would rather eat out than gamble!

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    1. How disappointing that the rare occasions when we win that we often are given items we can't use. Las Vegas or other casinos aren't places I've frequented often in my lifetime, but are places I've visited, introducing a variety of experiences in travels around the U.S.

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  5. That wonderful post brought back English lessons where we - teenagers, moody etc. - tried to pay attention to the fact that your language has different words for the German "Glück", which to us was/is just a mash-up of luck and happiness and chance, all rolled into one word.
    I was raised by people who thought (and thought they knew why) that draws and lotteries and gaming etc. were devious ways for some to make money from the masses and thus, we were well kept away from it.
    While my in-laws loved the game of luck, the banter and the competition. My FIL regularly won the xmas turkey somewhere, my MIL would come home from a day out with her friends to a store opening, a holiday on some cruise ship or just the church hall bingo with at least one trophy, often enough the top prize. I still use the remnants of a tea set she won and passed on to us.

    For years, decades!, I have been entering the cryptic crossword competitions of our main newspapers where the weekly prize is usually a fancy hotel stay plus extras to no avail. I keep trying.
    There is this saying "lucky at cards, unlucky in love", or something like it.

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    1. I like the German word “gluck” — the combination of meanings. A number of languages have words that are more expressive of meanings than English which intrigues me.

      My mother was raised with similar beliefs though she wasn’t overly obtuse passing them on to me. She did argue with her younger sister about her and husband playing the numbers based on the beliefs with which they were both raised. Her sister and husband often won as I recall.

      Mother was most concerned she had mistakenly allowed a couple she thought she knew take me for a ride in town when they were going out to buy gas for their car. They went to a station they knew that had an illegal slot machine hidden in the back the couple played a few times. Looked harmless to my young eyes.

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  6. I never win a thing. My husband, however, wins drawings all the time. Whenever we buy raffle tickets, we put his name on them. We've won a diamond, 1500 dollars, several "Chinese auction" items at charity benefits, etc. I've never even won a centerpiece at a baby shower. LOL.

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    1. Sounds like your husband readily falls into that “lucky” category.

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  7. I wouldn’t consider myself especially lucky when it comes to raffles and drawings and gambling, but I’m not unlucky either. I won on a horse once, I think I bet $2 and won $11 or something like that. I won a roll of film once, though I didn’t have a camera. I won a FitBit a few years ago, which I didn’t want, but my husband did, so that was good. I won an Amazon gift card that I used to buy school books for my daughter. I consider my luck to be more in the ‘I have a good job, pretty good health, and wonderful family’ category, which of course are not true luck…Luck is often a factor, but also hard work and choosing well…

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    1. Your luck sounds rather limited, kinda like mine but with a couple more wins maybe.

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  8. To me, luck has to do with not getting Covid or cancer or whatever. Luck has to do with having a roof over one's head and food on the table. I am much to practical for gambling...although I have also played the slot machines on that rare trip.

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    1. I can join with you and your thoughts of what constitutes good luck when we think of all that can go wrong. My frequency of gambling has been rare, too.

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