Luck, Chance or Happenstance

As luck would have it...I'm back.

Things have quieted down a bit since I last posted.  The remodel (as previously discussed in Closed for Renovation)  is now completed and allowing a much quieter atmosphere in which I can think....for now. As is always the case, one improvement has led to us thinking another few remodeling "tweaks" need to happen.  There is no end to the  madness.

ALSO, since you and I last spoke...hubby and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.  Yeah!!! Crazy!!  Who says that teenage marriages are a bad idea?  OK...possibly everyone.  I see that.
 

Which brings me to the subject for the day.  LUCK...is it real?  Given my past post,  If You Knew My Story,  you wouldn't probably think of me as a lucky person. I, however, do feel extremely lucky and I am not alone in this.  According to a recent poll done by CBS News, 71% of people polled consider themselves lucky as well.

BUT..as with pretty much EVERYTHING...I am conflicted about what parts of my (or your) life are a result of luck as opposed to fate, or destiny or the result of our actions and efforts.  How much of our life's  outcome is just a result of  being in a particular place at a particular time?  Even then you would have to question, how did you come to be in that place at that time?  Was it chance, or luck or destiny?

I was recently watching a segment of CBS Sunday morning that was about the "science" of luck.  Susan Spencer interviewed 4 people that have various takes on "random luck" versus "taking control of one's life".  Three of the four interviewed guests talked about "controlling" your luck in various forms.  One alluded to the use of "lucky charms" or superstitions such as "See a penny, pick it up, all the day, you'll have good luck.".   Another discussed how he creates algorithms to insure positive outcomes and yet another talked about having a optimistic attitude" as a sure-fire way to bring about good luck.  The 4th person interviewed, however, said life is all intrinsically arbitrary.

On the CBS program Dr. Mazur pointed out that the  sometimes  a random act by one person defines the luck of another. He gave an example of a book, Fieldwork, that was written by Mischa Berlinski that was doing OK (not great) when Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King!) picked it up in a Barnes and Noble and was quoted in Entertainment Weekly  saying "This is the great American novel."  The book ended up being a finalist in the National Book Award.  This same set of circumstances could be attributed to every author the Oprah touted as being the "must read".  How lucky for them for her to touch them with her magic success wand.  Well...Maybe not so much James Frey.  She did, in fact, touch his "A Million Little Pieces" book with her success wand but then beat him over the head with it on national TV for taking creative liberties with his memoir.  I guess that is "good" luck that goes "bad". 

Of course, there are theories that nothing is "luck".  It's more about each of us sending out positive energy into the universe with our optimism.  According to Rhonda Byrnes, the author of The Secret,
our luck..good or bad...is on us.  According to her, we just have to concentrate, visualize and remain positive in our goals and they will come.

I have to tell you that when I was forced to watch the movie along with nearly every other corporate worker whose employer felt the need to shovel positivity down our throats,  I thought I potentially would be fired due to my involuntary gasps of  "are you shi**** me?" during it's run.  I seriously considered asking for workman's compensation for the eye strain resulting from  the excessive need to roll my eyes when the part  of the movie showing  a  guy sitting in the Bark-o-lounger who was conjuring up his  expensive new sports car.  

I realize I am not the most "positive" minded person in the world but perhaps my pragmatism counters that a bit.

Clearly, I don't believe my good fortune is product of my sending positive thoughts out into the universe but I appreciate all those that look at life as one big hugfest singing Kumbaya  around their metaphorical campfire.  Probably can't hurt, right?

Still...there is no way to know why things happen as they do. What's your thoughts?  Do you consider yourself lucky?  Or is your good fortune due to your good choices or hard work?  Is fate predetermined and out of our control?  Does your free-will alter the outcome?

The Good News and The Bad News

You might be the type of person that quickly can size up the "what wrong with this picture".  Yes, I am sure that there is a percentage of you that can zero in on the "dark side" with the accuracy of a short range missile looking for an enemy target.  (I throw in those phrases so the Internet tracking systems looking for keywords have something to read this morning.) 

Anyhow...as I was saying...for some of you...you have less of the capacity to see the good in some of these odd news stories. I am here to help.

The Good News:  Grumpy Cat has a Paying Job. 

Yes, we can rest easy that the perceptually sad, Grumpy Cat is off the feline unemployment line.  Maybe that is what was keeping him grumpy.  Or maybe not. 

The frowny-faced Internet kitty, who's real name is Tardar Sauce, is now the "spokescat" for a Friskies brand of cat food, Nestle Purina PetCare announced Tuesday. The St. Louis-based company didn't release terms of the deal.

Photos of Grumpy Cat, her brown and white face in a constant scowl, have become a constant presence on Facebook and other social media, often accompanied by crabby messages such as "I don't like days that end in Y" or "I'm listening, I just don't care.

 Even with her new job, Grumpy Cat seems...well...grumpy. But the Friskie people are trying to win her over.  Friskies spokeswoman Julie Catron said. "The first thing she'll do for us is receive the lifetime achievement award."

Catron isn't kidding. The feline will receive the award Oct. 15 in New York as Friskies honors the best cat videos of the year as chosen through an online vote.

 Unfortunately, it appears that  Grumpy Cat is still grumpy... even with a paying job.  Seems the announcement  is not cheering up Disappointed Cat, either.   Disappointed Cat (AKA Foo-Chan) seems to be disappointed by the news. Maybe cats have a harder time seeing silver linings.

The Good News: There Really Are Super Heroes and They Know CPR

It was Batman to the rescue, really, when a cat became stuck in a house fire over the weekend in West Virginia.

Batman and his partner, Captain America, were entertaining children and veterans at an American Legion event in Milton, W. Va., Saturday afternoon.  Batman is actually, John Buckland who is the founder
of “Heroes 4 Higher,” a West Virginia-based company that provides superhero characters to children’s events with a message that kids can, “Be The Hero’ to their community.”

At the site of billowing smoke coming from the house, Batman and Captain America, who in real life is Troy Marcum,  took off right into the fire. The two Super Heroes  knocked down a door and broke a window to get into the home.  They made it just a few feet into the front room before they were forced to retreat due to the smoke, but not before Batman was able to pull a cat from the home to safety, even performing CPR on the animal to save its life.

“When that cat woke up, it immediately started swatting and hissing at me. In an interview, John Buckland said he didn't blame the cat.  “It had a giant bat in its face, so I couldn't fault him." 

What a nice Super Hero that would say "I don't blame the cat" instead of saying "Damn cat, I could of let you burn."


The Good News: A Gift is a Token of a Generous Spirit

A teacher's assistant in Providence is facing criminal charges after he allegedly gave a bag of marijuana to a middle school principal as a present last Thursday afternoon.

Christopher Sheehan was arrested at an Everett Avenue home Friday and charged with unlawful delivery of marijuana in a school zone, according to a police report obtained by WPRI.com.

Police say Sheehan, who works with special education students at Nathanael Greene Middle School on Chalkstone Avenue, handed the school’s principal an envelope, calling it a “gift” for winning the city’s principal of the year award.

When the principal opened the envelope, she saw a sandwich bag with two smaller bags that contained the marijuana. The principal immediately contacted the police and her supervisor, according to the police report.

Sheehan was placed on leave without pay, according to Christina O’Reilly, a spokeswoman with the Providence School Department. She said district policy is to not comment further on the incident.

Sheehan was due in court Monday.

Giving a gift is usually a good thing. It was the choice of the gift that seemed to backfire.