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?  

Peacock Feather Dilemma

(After writing this piece, I learned a dear friend is literally off her feet for a while with a cast on one ankle and a boot on the other. Having only recently retired, she's much too young and in too good a physical condition for this inconvenience, though it could happen to anyone at any age. I dedicate this post to her. I wonder, should I give her some peacock feathers?)

Are peacock feathers displayed inside the house good or bad luck? This is my dilemma. The owner of several male peacocks offered me some of the birds' feathers. "No," I was assured by the feather-giver, "I did not chase down the birds and pluck their tail feathers. These colorful birds are molting. Peacock feathers displayed inside your house may bring you good luck!" That was all I needed to hear to convince me to give these iridescent green and blue colored feather plumes an opportunity to work their magic in my life.

I welcomed these good luck omens to thwart Murphy's Law that continues to impact my daily life since I first wrote about a series of persistent undesired events to which I have been relentlessly subjected. Murphy's Law is the one that predicts everything that can go wrong will go wrong. In my case, that has included household mechanical objects breaking down, with a few even beyond repair, along with a sprinkling of unusual personal medical matters. (See earlier posts with links on right side bar.)

One reader suggested I was experiencing bad juju brought on by evil spirits which I determined was hoodoo for sure. Certain suggested remedies to counteract these malignant forces may have played the devil with those spirits, subsequently lessening the ill effects of some of those original problems. Also, my personal ongoing efforts have been reaping results and resolutions, despite new unwelcome issues that perversely persist in emerging.

I'd been ripe for needing more magic, when coincidentally I discovered on YouTube that John Fogerty recorded a tune "You've Got The Magic" on an unreleased album titled "Hoodoo." I immediately concluded that song meant I had the magic all right, now that I had these lucky peacock feathers. That's what I thought until I later learned the rest of the male peacocks story. I then began to wonder if those birds had encountered evil spirits and bad magic, too.

But I didn't know about possible bad magic connected to peacock feathers then, as I was busily conducting a quick Internet search about positive belief systems associated with these good luck bearers. I learned peacocks and their feathers are described as representing protection, safe-guarding, harmony, good luck, serenity, peace of mind, and relaxation. The unnamed Google site writer additionally notes:

"This bird is also valued as a protection for the psychic self. There has been lore that writes that to have a peacock feather within the home this helps to safe guard any of the energy in the environment. I personally have always had peacock feathers in my home, even when I was a child in my room. I also know that some native people also use the peacock feathers in fans and some crafting. While I have heard some individuals speak of not having them in the home but I can say that nothing has never come about for me. I found the feathers and consider them to be a gift from The Creator."

What was meant by, "...some individuals speak of not having them in the home but I can say nothing has never come about for me"? Is possible bad luck being intimated here? I also note the writer to whom bad luck has not occurred "...found the feathers... ." Does the fact I was given the feathers rather than having found them make a difference in the magic flow of positive versus negative energy? I think it's important to consider all these little intricacies. These may be the fine print guiding how magic works, just like the fine print of legal agreements. Perhaps magic shouldn't be over-simplified any more than life can be.

So, suddenly complicating matters is my encountering unexpected new information indicating that peacock feathers displayed inside a home are not always considered good luck. The Google link notes that while

"In India the peacock was believed to have a thousand eyes in its feathers... In Java, the peacock was associated with the Devil. In Mosul in northern Iraq, there is a sect of Yezidis who hold that the Devil is not evil, and call him the Peacock Angel.' Also, I noted, "Myth has the peacock representing fidelity, as it dies of grief, or remains single, if it loses its mate."

Additional contradictions between good versus bad luck omens emerged as I learned more about the story of the male peacocks from whom my feathers came. I don't like to even think about the misery to which those birds have been subjected. Not only are they molting, but I wonder now if they may be depressed, too. How would that affect the magic? Consider this, the three cocks were each deserted by their mate. How else to say it, other than, those female birds abandoned my feather-donating male birds -- the peahens literally flew the coop together.

What does that say about fidelity? The whereabouts of these missing partners, the much more drab appearing hens, is unknown. They have been absent for so long, their owners no longer expect they will return. Speculation is that after fleeing their mates, the hens may even have been victims of the area's wildlife predators. On the other hand, the hens may well be living a whole new life. Surely they wouldn't have aligned themselves with new bird companions, would they?

Obvious to me is the fact the abandoned male peacocks have been decidedly unlucky birds. Molting or not, no wonder they're dropping their tail feathers. Life must be disappointing to them, with or without their awesome filigree-like plumes tipped with those strikingly penetrating eyes that have been compared to an evil eye.

Have I been mesmerized by evil spirits, because I think the delicate peacock feathers projecting a play of sharp bright dark blue and green colors, are most attractive and fascinating to gaze upon? The colorful patterns provide glimpses of white accents surrounding those hypnotic piercing black eyes.

I hope I've made the correct decision, because these frond-like feathers stand majestically tall in a corner of my home, hopefully bringing me good luck.