My Lucky Day

 Originally Published Dec. 2012           

My lucky day?  Well, I have two of them to share with you.  The first happened many years ago during a trip that was loaded with “firsts” – first cruise – first time in the Caribbean – first time eating lobster – first time winning the “mini-Olympics” on the ship – first time swimming in Meghan’s Bay in St. Thomas – and the first time playing the slot machines.

Yes, the slot machines.  My first time involved a quarter.  I put the quarter in and pulled on the arm.  I won $2.25.  My second pull?  Another dollar!  I was on a roll.  Of course, the third pull was a disaster and so I stopped playing.  My husband, Norm, is simply amazed that I can simply stop whenever I want to.  But, I can.

My really lucky day happened on the fourth day of the cruise.  We were docked in The Bahamas……Nassau, to be exact.  A beautiful day.  On our way to the beach, we decided to walk through the Paradise Island Resort and Casino – just to check it out.  While going through the casino, I decided to put in one quarter in one of the slot machines.  I pulled the handle and – what do you know?  I won $62.50.  My lucky day!  I immediately collected all 250 quarters out of the machine and exchanged them for a 50, a ten, two $1 bills and 50 cents.  We then promptly left the casino and continued on to the beach with Norm still shaking his head wondering how I could just leave the casino without playing any more.  I call it a skill.  Norm calls it something else.  The word “cheap” comes to mind.

Anyway, I knew exactly what I was going to do with my winnings.  I needed to have a wonderful souvenir of our trip and so after getting back to the ship, I went to their fancy gift shop and bought a beautiful oriental vase.  It cost exactly $60.  I still have it.  It’s on the counter in one of our bathrooms and every time I dust it, I’m reminded of that lucky day in The Bahamas when I won all that money.

My next example involves a series of decisions that I made that if I hadn’t made them, I wouldn’t be married to Norm.  Do you believe in fate?  I do, because Fate, in my mind, is another word for luck.

I was supposed to go on to college after graduating from high school.  I was registered at St. Scholastica in Duluth.  Had a roommate.  Even had a “big sister” assigned to me.  I wasn’t ready for college.  Oh, I had the good grades – was 13^th in my class (out of 116).  Had the financial backing of my parents.  I just didn’t have the desire.  But, this was the course that my counselor and parents had laid out for me and so, I went along.

After graduation, I got a job at 3M for the summer as a secretary to one of the managers in the Industrial Tape Division.  I loved my job and I was good at it.  After six weeks, I was promoted to work for one of the directors.  I was on my way up and didn’t want to leave.  I was doing exactly what I wanted to do.  I told my parents that I didn’t want to go to college.  While they were disappointed, I think they knew that I would be unhappy and probably wouldn’t succeed in college at that point in my life.

So, instead of packing my things and going to Duluth, I packed my things and got an apartment in St. Paul with three other roommates.  I made some dear friends at 3M and still communicate with two of them to this day.  One of them, Judy, and I were particularly close.  She belonged to a young singles group at her church.  This group was part of a much larger organization called ACC, which stood for Associated Confraternity Clubs.  Each church had their own individual group and once a month, all 15 or so groups would meet for a huge gathering.  Judy belonged to the group in the Como area of St. Paul.  She had friends who belonged to the group on the East Side of St. Paul  – closer to where I lived.  So, she arranged for them to take me to that group and get acquainted.

Judy kept saying to me that she wanted to fix me up with a really nice young fella that she just knew I’d like.  She had been dating Norm for a little while; but had met Jim and really liked him.  She just knew that Norm and I were better suited for each other.  I had just left a horrible relationship and wasn’t ready to date anyone for a while.  So, she gave up – or so I thought.

The ACC had organized a ski trip for the entire organization.  Judy insisted that I go with her and Jim. And so, I did.  And that was my lucky day in February of 1964.  There he was.  In the back of the bus.  Playing poker with his buddies.  Two things I noticed right away – his gorgeous head of hair.  So thick.  So brown.  So wavy.  And…. the fact that he had a great smile.  Too bad his front tooth was chipped.  So, that’s what I remember as my first impression of Norm.

Norm’s first impression of me was….. and I quote:  “Mary was the brown-haired, flat-chested gal in the red sweater who didn’t know her ‘diggers from her clovers’.”  Well, at least he remembered me!  We skied a little together that day and then I assumed he forgot about me for the next three months.  He didn’t ask me out until the following May!  I learned afterwards that he had to first say “good bye” to Sandy Olson and Joanna Zipperian before he could ask me out.

So – it was fate.  If I had gone to Duluth, I wouldn’t have stayed at 3M.  If I hadn’t had stayed at 3M, I wouldn’t have met Judy.  If Judy hadn’t had liked Jim better, she would have never have introduced me to Norm.  If I hadn’t had made such a big impression on Norm, he would have never asked me out.  And….. if he wouldn’t have had his chipped tooth fixed, I would have never married him!  Was he lucky!