Ammo Grrrll, your column was perfect for Valentine's Day (tomorrow). Your six decade romance with Max is a lovely story. Fortunately for me, I have one of those stories too.
You already know that I don't believe in the concept of serendipity. Everything happens for a "reason." Events are all constituent parts of a Divinely inspired Grand Plan.
If Steve had chosen a platform for comments that allowed for commenters to post pictures, I'd submit some very compelling physical evidence of my claim. (BTW, I'm NOT complaining. Last week I got to say "bitch" in my comment and did not suffer three hours of interminable limbo. So, thank you, Steve for treating us like adults.)
Luck is just a fantasy subset of serendipity. Max's country song is spot on. Mathematical certainties control gambling, and KNOWING when to hold/fold them is the critical talent, based on intellectual exercise and calculations. This is why card counters, even those who do the whole exercise in their heads, get banned from 'gaming' institutions.
BTW, IMHO, online gambling will destroy American televised sports. In addition to the other realities, when organized crime corrupts and cheats, gambling is even more of a fool's errand. The fix is in.
I concede that as a Paratrooper in Vietnam, I thought I was incredibly "lucky." Even before I went into the Army, and while at Arizona State, I had TWO near death experiences (both involving too much alcohol). I had THREE in RVN, where there was no alcohol and also no rational explanation for my survival (especially since I got through RVN w/o a scratch and no Purple Heart). It's taken me some decades and the accumulation of life experience and a small amount of wisdom to realize that my survival was neither luck nor serendipity, but a mandate from the Grand Plan.
While you're right that combat vets talk about luck a lot (it's a topic just slightly less popular than females), my own, anecdotal, experience confirmed the old saying that there are no atheists in the fox holes.
You know, our species has only known how to write in some way or another for less than 8,000 years. That's about 4% of our time on the planet. We are still a very primitive gaggle of tribes. In the last 200 years we've learned to do all sorts of cool things with technology. And, we know a dozen ways to destroy ourselves. If we survive, luck will have nothing to do with it.
Always great to see you out and about TonyP of the famed One, Seven Three. Your posts are always inspirational.
"You already know that I don't believe in the concept of serendipity. Everything happens for a 'reason.' Events are all constituent parts of a Divinely inspired Grand Plan."
You know Tony...I think that's one of the reasons my favorite song in film was sung by "Tevye" in Fiddler on the Roof:
"Lord you made the lion and the lamb.
You decreed I should be what I am.
Would it spoil some vast, eternal plan?
If I were a wealthy man?"
So I accept my place, I sweep-up broken glass, I watch wealthy men on TV running for office and I dream of having a seat by the Eastern Wall, discussing the Holy Books with the learned men seven hours everyday. That would be sweet for me.
Remember, these are two pretty smart guys. CCV will be in a "blue" state.
But, I suppose Virginia won't be a problem for them. Both are senior fellows at the Hoover Institute at Stanford in the Peoples Republic of California. I guess if Steve can routinely instruct at Berkeley, which is truly the belly of the Marxist Beast, those two national treasures could tolerate Virginia for a day or two.
I lived in Virginia for eight years. It's a beautiful place (mostly).
If CC5 occurs in Virginia, I hope someone will invite Nick Freitas. I believe he's now out of the legislature but he may still be a delegate. Mr. Freitas is the kind of witty conservative we need. Commentarians who are scratching their heads should either look him up on YouTube or try Head and Shoulders.
Maybe because I had just gotten up and wasn't quite awake, but, when I first read your suggestion, I read "Nick Fuentes," and thought "What??????" I realized my mistake immediately, of course, (and also realized you wouldn't suggest that), but it gave me quite a start at first.
In addition to being an intellectually superior, witty observer of the human condition, he is also a gallant, combat tested Paratrooper (Special Forces). But, then, I repeat myself. Heh.
Yes, Debbie, this is a no brainer. He's amazing. Once they figure out where CCV will occur, we have to get him to commit. I suggest a tag team presentation with Freitas and Anthony Lucido.
Would the world survive a tag team of The Mayo Man and Mr. Freitas? Even better, a colloquy of the two and a nominee from the audience? I can think of several (I nominate MT Geoff) who might add something to the mix. Yourself also.
Joe agrees with you, btw. He speaks disparagingly of what he calls "Hallmark" madeup holidays! But, he is good with SPONTANEOUS gifts and sweetness. For our 30th anniversary, (close to half our married life ago), he wrote a song called "The Only Way To Live" about the meeting I just described and had it recorded by a wonderful singer/friend. When I played it for a party with many members of the synagogue present, all the men said, "Joe! You've set the bar impossibly high for the rest of us. A box of chocolates is just not going to make the grade any more!" AG
I think I’m in the wrong place…or body when it comes to Valentines. With the exception of my parents celebrating, somewhere in the 1980s I got tired of the whole shtick.
I agree with you, Doplar. Pretty much every day there is a small notice on my computer telling me what I should celebrate. There is ice cream sundae day (that is one I wouldn’t mind celebrating often), cheddar cheese day, world radio day, break up with your internet carrier day just to name a few. Frankly I am just glad to wake up to enjoy the day. Today I am glad it is not snowing and above freezing, so maybe some of the snow will melt.
Seems we have been married way too long. We were grocery shopping yesterday, and I suggested she go pick out a bouquet of flowers. She said why? I advised it is Valentines Day Saturday, and it would be nice to have some on the table. She said ok and went on the the fruit section. Ho hum, little romance here!
Well, though I question the concept of luck, when you propose flowers and cooking for your beloved, you unquestionably increase your chances of getting "lucky."
Scott Hansen, yet another comic I came up with in Minnesota who has passed away, had a funny bit about doing his last minute Christmas shopping at the 7-11. "Boy, was Grandma surprised to get that FRAM Oil Filter." RIP, big guy! AG
We were working class. Our cars had nothing so sophisticated as an oil filter. Dad used cheese cloth balled up in an old modified can of corn held in place with duct tape (is there nothing it can't do?).
Valentine's Day, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, continues to surprise people (mostly men) as much as their wedding anniversaries do.
I suspect your comment is based on your long acquaintance with the USAF. Soldiers, you should know, who are married, NEVER forget their wedding anniversaries.
Sometimes, we are forward deployed in defense of our beloved Republic and our critical responsibilities ensure that we cannot provide the immediate love and support that our spouses deserve. By "forward deployed" I mean anytime we are outside our family quarters for more than one hour.
I spent Valentines Day 1969 in RVN. The "holiday" never crossed my mind. She was super busy taking car of our little one and likely didn't care. We made up for it a year later!
Wait, wait, wait! Arn't you the engineer who grew FLOWERS on your base camp at Phu Tai? Personally, I have absolutely NO recollection of a flower in Vietnam. Anywhere, anyplace, anytime.
Even in the bad old days of the late 1960s, you were a sensitive, new age guy. Obviously, Valentines Day was embedded deep into your subconscious.
And sometimes outright LIE. i have always taken the opposite approach. The minute I turn one age, especially if the next one ends in a 1 or 0, I "round up" in order to absorb some of the shock. 79 is kind of a nothingburger age, so I insist that I am already "80". And several people have said they think I look pretty good for 80, which is nice. LOL. AG
(Cue: Frank Sinatra (Born on Friday the 13th, Dec. 1915))
“Luck be a lady tonight. Luck be a lady tonight.
Luck if you’ve ever been a lady to begin with.
Luck be a lady tonight.
Luck let a gentleman see…just how nice a dame you can be.
I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with.
Luck be a lady with me.
A lady doesn’t leave her escort. It isn’t fair, and it’s not nice.
A lady doesn’t wander all over the room and blow…
…on another pair of dice.
So let’s keep this party polite. Never get out of my sight.
Stick with me baby I’m the guy that you came in with.
Luck be a lady. Luck be a lady.
Luck be a lady…tonight.”
—--
True confession: Frank Sinatra was not born on Friday the 13th…I just made that up because I thought it would make for a better story.
Frank was born on the 12th of December, 1915, what day of the week I don’t know. But I know he believed in luck. He used to talk about it all the time between singing his songs. In his opinion, what was the best bit of luck he ever had? His father coming to America so that Junior could be born in America. So many Americans forget that bit of luck. As Yogi Berra might have said: “People born in America have hit the jackpot of life’s lottery from the very beginning…so make a success of yourself and stop whining.”
As luck would have it, I first met my wife on a Friday the 13th. Ok, so I made that up as well. We actually first spoke to each other on February 14th, 1992. So I guess if the 13th is unlucky, February 14th is a very lucky day…it’s some feast day or something…people give each other boxes of candy on that day. Although the day was a bit unlucky for some Chicago mobsters back in 1929…you know, 1929, the whole year, was a bit unlucky for a lot of people.
Ammo: Your touching story today, meeting Joe there in the great state of Illinois…well…it’s surely touched me. And to think that so many years later the two of you are still together. What can anyone say about it except Congratulations!
As always, the highlight of this or any other week, a touching story written by a grand gal or as Sinatra would call her, a “dame,” a dame whose claim to fame is proclaimed by all who read her, she’s never tame, certainly not lame, her postings never the same, and boy can she play the game. If you ask me…God has granted her much luck I do declaim! We give thanks again, for another gem from our beloved Mrs. Ammo Grrrll.
12-12-15 was a Sunday. It's far enough back to fall outside of the Fogey Rule.
Feb 14th is the Feast of St. Hershey. It has become largely secular. And before you completely sneer at the idea of St. Hershey, look up Mr. Hershey's life story.
Susan has touched briefly on what must have been a difficult part of the Vass story. Susan was raised a Christian. Christians and Jews have sometimes made successful mixed-marriages but Susan became a Conservative Jew. With all the goodwill and acceptance that the families may have provided, that's a difficult transition.
Wait a minute Ol' Tony! In the past you used that line for the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. By the start of the 8th grade you must have been getting gray hair?
It did not take me three years to get through the seventh grade. I was an honor student. In fact, Sister Loretta said to me "Tony...we've had you long enough and it will be an honor for me to graduate you right now plus the parents are pestering me to move you along...good luck in high school.
30 years ago, I had an arranged marriage. My Californian spouse had only one cousin, who was English and happened to be a good friend of mine. When her cousin Brian got married, his wife decided that all his single friends were a bad influence on him, and decided to marry them all off. She had great success in choosing good wives for all of us, but her choice for me was six thousand miles away, and it took several years before she brought her daughter over to England to meet the relatives. When she did, I got a call telling me that my engagement party was to be on Thursday, and to arrive by 7:00 (remember that I had never met Marilyn).
The evening was a great success, with lots of jokes about the situation, and then Marilyn and Dana went back to America. A year later I went over to visit with them, after which Marilyn’s friends told her to return to England immediately and “snap him up”. So she did, and a year later she packed up all her stuff (including Dana) and moved to England, where we were married. The rest, as they say, is history.
Louis. You really lucked out. Your "arranged marriage" could have been to the Honorable Diana Frances Spencer of Norfolk...I hear she was a handful and always complaining.
But now that you are an All America...you and your Marilyn join us in our never-ending task, improving America and making her work better. (Sinatra used to say that just before singing "The House I Live In.")
What a wonderful tale! The Susan and Joe Got Together story! Susan, thanks for giving us a glimpse into your history. It is full of what I like to call "God moments."
I met my hubby at college, too. Short version of my story: I was struggling over story problems (remember those? now they're called word problems), and my big brother introduced me to his friend from an astronomy class. Hubby-to-be was the first person not to tell me I was dumb because I couldn't do these problems. Of course I fell in love! Took him a long time to follow suit, but 7 years later we were married...and sometimes I wonder. If Fred had not taken that astronomy class and met my brother, would Fred and I have met? We were both commuter students, and our base was the library; I had seen Fred studying in the library before I met him. But I don't think I would have sat at the same table with Fred, had he not met my brother. And of course helped me with the silly story problems! Coincidence? To me and Fred, it's our own personal God moment, one of dozens. It's nice to take the time to remember these, and Susan, I'm glad you share yours with us every week.
MTG: As a student of metrics and analysis, I will make the scary point that the world is, in truth, one vast collection of story problems. The utility of mathematics is to take the stories and the numbers and figure out what happened or what will happen.
Yes, I know. My husband has an MS in applied math and statistics. He does rendevouz and prox ops stuff. Believe me, I know! ^_^ But it's ok. When I need to know how much fabric to buy to make, say, an Ohio Star quilt, he figures it out for me. Or how much yarn and how many rows of each color I need, to crochet a corner-to-corner blanket that's half green-and-white and half maize-and-blue (that one almost caused a riot in our house). I'm better than him at things like knowing how much hamburger to buy, or how much milk we need next week, stuff like that, things that don't require story problems to solve. HAHA! We're a good team. :)
I'll second Debbie's comment. Grocery shopping is a word problem. We're going to have hamburgers one night, tacos another night and meatloaf a third night. How many pounds of ground beef do I need?
You sound just like my husband. LOL! Once someone told me I have a very logical mind. My question was, then why can't I solve the problem of two trains travelling in opposite directions, one going fast the other going lickety-toot (faster than fast) and they arrive in a city at a different time--how many cars are behind the train engines? ^_^
How did you guess? LOL! We both grew up in the Lansing area (making us Trolls, of course, because we live below the Bridge). We both attended Michigan State. We live on the Gulf Coast of Texas now, have for 45 years, for Hubby's job.
So you're Trolls too! Yes, I suspect there are a lot of divided houses around you, given where you are. We enjoy the Texas coast except during hurricane season. ^_^
It could have been two ships passing in the night, but it turned out to be a great armada of ambition and talent that was a blessing for us and countless others, as well.
I think I told you that Hubby and I also met in a booth. My cousin had invited me to join her and some co-workers for a drink after work at a downtown Minneapolis restaurant/bar. As serendipity would have it, I was seated next to her boss. Forty-eight years later, he still delights in telling people we met in a bar, I pretend to be embarrassed, and it amuses us to see the looks on some faces.
MTG: As the caretaker of several black cats over some few years, I did not find that they seemed to affect my luck either way. The kittens I rescued from underneath Malvern Avenue in Buena Park were black.
Doing a little counting and reminiscing, I have had two occasions when I actively sought to acquire cats. I have had a lot more than two cats. The Cat Distribution System is no myth. (The Cat Distribution System means that you were not looking for a cat when you acquired one.) (Excuse me: when the cat acquired you.)
I can report that I've never actively sought to acquire a cat. However, there must be a glitch in the Cat Distribution System, because I have obviously been selected to receive all of the cats destined for the Petroski household.
A wonderful story, AG! But I’m on the side of divine intervention rather than luck - God has plans for us all.
During the summer between my two years of business school, I took an internship with Chrysler in Detroit. (All of my classmates kept shaking their heads. “Chrysler? Detroit???”)
Chrysler arranged for housing at the University of Windsor for all of its interns. One of the gals wanted to go to a particular bar for her birthday, where they had dancing. I generally DO NOT like bars, but decided I should be social and pleasant, so agreed to go.
The bar was in what I later learned was not a great part of town, but not as bad as what might typically come to mind when you think of “Detroit.” We five girls went in and sat at a high top (which I also hate). No sooner did we get our drinks than 5 guys came over and each asked one of us to dance. I was inclined to decline, but decided to be polite and try to enjoy myself. Who knew that fella would become my husband of 36 years this April?
At the end of the evening, he asked for my phone number and, not being overly familiar with Canada, I gave him the wrong area code. Fortunately, he figured it out.
I later learned that the 5 fellas had never been to that bar before.
So…luck? Or divine intervention? That’s a whole lotta “luck.” I’m inclined toward divine intervention. Same with you and Joe.
Alas they did not. One was already married, so…. And one did date her dance partner (my husband’s best friend and the best man at our wedding), but it didn’t last since she had a serious boyfriend back home.
I’m hoping there’s a torrent of This is How I Met My Spouse stories.
I graduated with my Masters and had $150 in the bank. There was a round trip special from SoCal to Dallas for $148 so I called my oldest brother’s wife and asked if I could come visit.
She said “Oh yes! I’ll introduce you to the babysitter.” I replied “I don’t want to meet anybody, I just want some time off.”
Margaret was sitting on a patio chair watching my nieces and nephews in the pool when I arrived. 44 years later I can still see her sitting there.
We went out with my brother and sister-in-law to Judge Roy Bean’s that night … ten days later I asked her to marry me!
My 7 yo nephew came to me about five days in asking “Uncle Paul, you’re moving’ a little fast, aren’t you?” I suspect he heard that from one of the parental units!
"The little boy was warned not to tell anyone onboard they were Jews."
We will know that the Democrats have gone full Jew Hate when they stop suppressing the story of their hero FDR's efforts to keep America as judenfrei as possible and instead start celebrating that nasty deed.
All I've got, except to join in the general blessing of good luck. My Valentine's Day in 1984 was a complete and utter disaster. I went to bed in my $3,500 commercial building with no running water and asked God if there was not a woman somewhere who thought like I do. On February 15, 1984, I met the future Mrs. Blackwater.
There should be a law against having to work on AG day, but that wouldn't include family emergencies. See y'all at lunchtime.
You know Bryan, it has taken a lot of my earthly treasure to purchase a long and loving marriage.
I sit in church, and some of the churchmen preach that if I am good, that I will spend eternity with my bride. But I didn't sign-up for that...it was "til death do you part."
Don't be sad. I had the best 32 years of my life with my best friend. She literally took me around the world. Too many great times and memories to spend time being sad. Again, I hope that she has left the side door ajar.
An interesting definition of eternity I heard from a pastor:
A little bird carries grains of sand, one at a time, from the Atlantic coast over to the Pacific coast. When he has carried every grain across the country the first second of eternity will have passed!
I believe that God makes options open to us and we choose which paths we take. You two were definitely meant to be —— and your readers are also happy it was so!
I think it is always fun to hear how couples meet. I often ask long time married couples how they met. I have never considered it luck that I married my husband of 53 years. In fact, when we met the first time he put his arm around me and I thought him quite forward. Needless to say, that all changed over the next few months. Four children, 10 grandchildren plus our Tajik “daughter”, her husband and their four children, we have been blessed beyond measure with riches money can’t buy!
Hey, you made me realize I have a Siberian "daughter", her daughter and the daughter's two sons. Bad luck and bad politics have kept us apart since February 2022.
Sweetheart and I took paths rather more winding to meet up. He had been in the Air Force for ten years and I for five when we were sent from separate bases to a training program. We were to be instructors in a pilot program for USAF medics.
Of course people in temporary situations should assume that a relationship is a mere fling. We traded a few phone calls after we returned to our bases. Then, a few days after Christmas, he called me from California. "Oops, sweetie, someone just came in," he said. "I'll call back in a little while." My parents and my brother were all working evening shifts that night.
Just when I was expecting Geoff to call, there was a knock on the door. Yes. He'd called from a truck stop to make sure I would be at home!
The fling continues. The Fogey Rule prohibits a clear statement of dates, but if you can figure out half of fourscore you'll get the picture. We have continued to thank God for lining things up but Geoff remains a bit miffed at how long God took about it.
Miracles are a serious theological problem, though. How do some people gain this grace -- your survival of a difficult pregnancy to be born and another to be a mother, a couple of times when traffic situations came out better than expected, sweetheart and me as an item -- and others who seem to deserve well of God's grace are sore afflicted by circumstances rather than by bad decisions?
Susan, what a great story of your chance initial meeting with Joe. I am soooo looking forward to seeing the Netflix version of it!! (sarcasm naturally becomes me)
My initial in person meeting with my future wife was definitely a chance encounter. Let’s just say my reputation proceeded me. I was friends with her boss way back in the 1900s when the internet was in its infancy. In those days I was usually referred to by my last name (call it XYZ for now), and I would call her boss daily and tell him a joke I had read online — some of which might be considered objectionable by today’s HR standards — and he would relay it to her as the “XYZ joke of the day”. Suffice to say, Mr. XYZ was not someone she ever wanted to meet!
As CHANCE would have it, she and I happened to both attend a social gathering at the same time, and I introduced myself by my first name, and we hit it off fabulously. About 5 minutes later, her boss who was also there yelled across the room to me and asked “Hey XYZ, any new jokes today?”. My future wife looked at me and incredulously said “You? You are XYZ??!!!”
Alas, by that point the damage was done and there was no going back.
I am still waiting on receiving competing offers from Disney and Netflix for the movie version rights to the story.
As another commenter suggested, the successful are not necessarily more 'lucky' but just better attuned to see opportunities for *good* luck. Then there are those who say that one MAKES ones own luck. I think both might be true - making your own luck and also keeping one's eyes and ears - and MIND! - OPEN to seizing positive opportunities.
There is also plenty of bad luck in the world - passengers on the Titanic, or any of the planes involved on 9/11.
There is a very interesting movie with Gwenneth Paltrow called "Sliding Doors" that examines 'the path not taken' by even the difference of a few seconds from missing one train versus another. I find it fascinating to think about how (or why?) that happens.
The notion that little, sometimes almost unthinking, choices can have huge consequences has always fascinated me. I was thinking about that again just the other day when reading a Beatles book that came out last year called John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs. Most have heard the story: His friend Ivan talked 15-year-old Paul into going to a little church garden party in an unfamiliar (to Paul) section of Liverpool. The organizers had booked a local skiffle band for the kids, led by a 16 (almost 17)-year-old named John. They met and, even though John was older and cooler, they both were obsessed by music and got along.
What if Paul would just have told Ivan that he had other things to do that day? It would have seemed like no big deal, but it probably would have drastically changed the course of their lives and, to a lesser but still significant degree, the lives of millions of people around the world.
But, of course, neither they nor we would have known it.
Sweeeet transition transition from a Friday the 13th nod to superstition and luck to a wonderful love story. And, as several others have noted tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
Ammo Grrrll, your column was perfect for Valentine's Day (tomorrow). Your six decade romance with Max is a lovely story. Fortunately for me, I have one of those stories too.
You already know that I don't believe in the concept of serendipity. Everything happens for a "reason." Events are all constituent parts of a Divinely inspired Grand Plan.
If Steve had chosen a platform for comments that allowed for commenters to post pictures, I'd submit some very compelling physical evidence of my claim. (BTW, I'm NOT complaining. Last week I got to say "bitch" in my comment and did not suffer three hours of interminable limbo. So, thank you, Steve for treating us like adults.)
Luck is just a fantasy subset of serendipity. Max's country song is spot on. Mathematical certainties control gambling, and KNOWING when to hold/fold them is the critical talent, based on intellectual exercise and calculations. This is why card counters, even those who do the whole exercise in their heads, get banned from 'gaming' institutions.
BTW, IMHO, online gambling will destroy American televised sports. In addition to the other realities, when organized crime corrupts and cheats, gambling is even more of a fool's errand. The fix is in.
I concede that as a Paratrooper in Vietnam, I thought I was incredibly "lucky." Even before I went into the Army, and while at Arizona State, I had TWO near death experiences (both involving too much alcohol). I had THREE in RVN, where there was no alcohol and also no rational explanation for my survival (especially since I got through RVN w/o a scratch and no Purple Heart). It's taken me some decades and the accumulation of life experience and a small amount of wisdom to realize that my survival was neither luck nor serendipity, but a mandate from the Grand Plan.
While you're right that combat vets talk about luck a lot (it's a topic just slightly less popular than females), my own, anecdotal, experience confirmed the old saying that there are no atheists in the fox holes.
You know, our species has only known how to write in some way or another for less than 8,000 years. That's about 4% of our time on the planet. We are still a very primitive gaggle of tribes. In the last 200 years we've learned to do all sorts of cool things with technology. And, we know a dozen ways to destroy ourselves. If we survive, luck will have nothing to do with it.
Always great to see you out and about TonyP of the famed One, Seven Three. Your posts are always inspirational.
"You already know that I don't believe in the concept of serendipity. Everything happens for a 'reason.' Events are all constituent parts of a Divinely inspired Grand Plan."
You know Tony...I think that's one of the reasons my favorite song in film was sung by "Tevye" in Fiddler on the Roof:
"Lord you made the lion and the lamb.
You decreed I should be what I am.
Would it spoil some vast, eternal plan?
If I were a wealthy man?"
So I accept my place, I sweep-up broken glass, I watch wealthy men on TV running for office and I dream of having a seat by the Eastern Wall, discussing the Holy Books with the learned men seven hours everyday. That would be sweet for me.
I dream of being the waiter at a lunch meeting of Victor Davis Hansen and Thomas Sowell. Imagine that conversation.
One word out of your mouth besides, "Gentlemen, may I refresh your water?" and they would invite you to join them and be the wiser for it!! AG
Holy cow!!! Susan, that was one of the most wonderful compliments that I ever received. Words fail me here.
Let's invite them both to Commenter Con Five.
Remember, these are two pretty smart guys. CCV will be in a "blue" state.
But, I suppose Virginia won't be a problem for them. Both are senior fellows at the Hoover Institute at Stanford in the Peoples Republic of California. I guess if Steve can routinely instruct at Berkeley, which is truly the belly of the Marxist Beast, those two national treasures could tolerate Virginia for a day or two.
I lived in Virginia for eight years. It's a beautiful place (mostly).
If CC5 occurs in Virginia, I hope someone will invite Nick Freitas. I believe he's now out of the legislature but he may still be a delegate. Mr. Freitas is the kind of witty conservative we need. Commentarians who are scratching their heads should either look him up on YouTube or try Head and Shoulders.
Nick Freitas? I think I saw him at the Right to Life March in Lincoln NE just last January 31st. He was terrific!
Maybe because I had just gotten up and wasn't quite awake, but, when I first read your suggestion, I read "Nick Fuentes," and thought "What??????" I realized my mistake immediately, of course, (and also realized you wouldn't suggest that), but it gave me quite a start at first.
That was a brilliant suggestion.
In addition to being an intellectually superior, witty observer of the human condition, he is also a gallant, combat tested Paratrooper (Special Forces). But, then, I repeat myself. Heh.
Yes, Debbie, this is a no brainer. He's amazing. Once they figure out where CCV will occur, we have to get him to commit. I suggest a tag team presentation with Freitas and Anthony Lucido.
Would the world survive a tag team of The Mayo Man and Mr. Freitas? Even better, a colloquy of the two and a nominee from the audience? I can think of several (I nominate MT Geoff) who might add something to the mix. Yourself also.
John N Kennedy!
Hello Tony, been thinking of you.
For me, that conversation would be them talking and me listening with mouth fully agape (not uh-gop-ee, but uh-gape).
Yep, that's how it would actually go for me.
Sorry Tony but from an old codger: Valentines day is the day I am most happy to have no female obligations. Ugh
A made up special day, as if we do not have enough of them already. And to think, some people think I'm not a 'touchy feely' kind of a guy. ;-)
Joe agrees with you, btw. He speaks disparagingly of what he calls "Hallmark" madeup holidays! But, he is good with SPONTANEOUS gifts and sweetness. For our 30th anniversary, (close to half our married life ago), he wrote a song called "The Only Way To Live" about the meeting I just described and had it recorded by a wonderful singer/friend. When I played it for a party with many members of the synagogue present, all the men said, "Joe! You've set the bar impossibly high for the rest of us. A box of chocolates is just not going to make the grade any more!" AG
Luck is merely what we call it when we notice the hand of God at work.
When you're as lucky as we are, every day is Valentine's day, Mother's day and Father's day.
I agree.
Oh, Sweet William, how wonderful to see you out and about today. I hope all is well in your world. AG
It is great to see his post!
I think I’m in the wrong place…or body when it comes to Valentines. With the exception of my parents celebrating, somewhere in the 1980s I got tired of the whole shtick.
My husband goes all in.
Though he has a much bigger brain than me, I did feel a great deal of commonality with Max when I met him. To his credit.
Joe has a fine brain to be sure, but you are no slouch, my friend. AG
I agree with you, Doplar. Pretty much every day there is a small notice on my computer telling me what I should celebrate. There is ice cream sundae day (that is one I wouldn’t mind celebrating often), cheddar cheese day, world radio day, break up with your internet carrier day just to name a few. Frankly I am just glad to wake up to enjoy the day. Today I am glad it is not snowing and above freezing, so maybe some of the snow will melt.
# Me too, Lois
Those "people" just don't see your deep sensitive side.
Maybe an MRI would reveal it.
That's why I like you Tony, you get me, my dearest friend.
As I said below, been thinking of you. Happy Valentines Day. ;-)
Jim
Same, Doplar!
"thank you, Steve for treating us like adults." Amen!
There is nothing as scary as opening your eyes to find out if you're still on the same planet the accident happened on.
Valentine’s Day is tomorrow? Oh Crap!! I didn’t get the memo … again!!!
Be back later. Gotta go do some shopping
Seems we have been married way too long. We were grocery shopping yesterday, and I suggested she go pick out a bouquet of flowers. She said why? I advised it is Valentines Day Saturday, and it would be nice to have some on the table. She said ok and went on the the fruit section. Ho hum, little romance here!
Ol' Mel
I made the same mistake last year at Costco. This year I planned ahead and will have the flowers delivered. I may even volunteer to cook!
Here's an exchange that went poorly:
"Dear, would you fix dinner?"
"Why? I didn't break it."
HAHAHAHAHA....love it!
Gotta try that one.
Well, though I question the concept of luck, when you propose flowers and cooking for your beloved, you unquestionably increase your chances of getting "lucky."
Good thing that you didn't wait 'til the last minute.
Scott Hansen, yet another comic I came up with in Minnesota who has passed away, had a funny bit about doing his last minute Christmas shopping at the 7-11. "Boy, was Grandma surprised to get that FRAM Oil Filter." RIP, big guy! AG
We were working class. Our cars had nothing so sophisticated as an oil filter. Dad used cheese cloth balled up in an old modified can of corn held in place with duct tape (is there nothing it can't do?).
A roll of toilet paper was also a cheap, effective oil filter.
LUXURY!! And you know the rest....
The Four Yorkshiremen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE
I think I got that one from MechaniX Illustrated. Anyone remember Tom McCahill?
Regarding the product that Joe Redfield mentioned, there's at least one job that duct tape COULD do that I wouldn't want it to.
Unless she changed her own oil.
Relax. You've still got tomorrow morning.
Valentine's Day, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, continues to surprise people (mostly men) as much as their wedding anniversaries do.
My wife’s anniversary is in mid June.
I think most years mine falls in the same month
I needed a good laugh this morning, Bob. As soon as I read the first "sentence", I kinda figured what was coming!
Ol' Mel
I suspect your comment is based on your long acquaintance with the USAF. Soldiers, you should know, who are married, NEVER forget their wedding anniversaries.
Sometimes, we are forward deployed in defense of our beloved Republic and our critical responsibilities ensure that we cannot provide the immediate love and support that our spouses deserve. By "forward deployed" I mean anytime we are outside our family quarters for more than one hour.
I spent Valentines Day 1969 in RVN. The "holiday" never crossed my mind. She was super busy taking car of our little one and likely didn't care. We made up for it a year later!
Ol' Mel
Wait, wait, wait! Arn't you the engineer who grew FLOWERS on your base camp at Phu Tai? Personally, I have absolutely NO recollection of a flower in Vietnam. Anywhere, anyplace, anytime.
Even in the bad old days of the late 1960s, you were a sensitive, new age guy. Obviously, Valentines Day was embedded deep into your subconscious.
And birthdays, although as many women get older they tend to forget how many of those they have had.
We don’t forget, Mr. Redfield, we suppress.
And sometimes outright LIE. i have always taken the opposite approach. The minute I turn one age, especially if the next one ends in a 1 or 0, I "round up" in order to absorb some of the shock. 79 is kind of a nothingburger age, so I insist that I am already "80". And several people have said they think I look pretty good for 80, which is nice. LOL. AG
Except in California where we're not allowed to suppress.
(Cue: Frank Sinatra (Born on Friday the 13th, Dec. 1915))
“Luck be a lady tonight. Luck be a lady tonight.
Luck if you’ve ever been a lady to begin with.
Luck be a lady tonight.
Luck let a gentleman see…just how nice a dame you can be.
I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with.
Luck be a lady with me.
A lady doesn’t leave her escort. It isn’t fair, and it’s not nice.
A lady doesn’t wander all over the room and blow…
…on another pair of dice.
So let’s keep this party polite. Never get out of my sight.
Stick with me baby I’m the guy that you came in with.
Luck be a lady. Luck be a lady.
Luck be a lady…tonight.”
—--
True confession: Frank Sinatra was not born on Friday the 13th…I just made that up because I thought it would make for a better story.
Frank was born on the 12th of December, 1915, what day of the week I don’t know. But I know he believed in luck. He used to talk about it all the time between singing his songs. In his opinion, what was the best bit of luck he ever had? His father coming to America so that Junior could be born in America. So many Americans forget that bit of luck. As Yogi Berra might have said: “People born in America have hit the jackpot of life’s lottery from the very beginning…so make a success of yourself and stop whining.”
As luck would have it, I first met my wife on a Friday the 13th. Ok, so I made that up as well. We actually first spoke to each other on February 14th, 1992. So I guess if the 13th is unlucky, February 14th is a very lucky day…it’s some feast day or something…people give each other boxes of candy on that day. Although the day was a bit unlucky for some Chicago mobsters back in 1929…you know, 1929, the whole year, was a bit unlucky for a lot of people.
Ammo: Your touching story today, meeting Joe there in the great state of Illinois…well…it’s surely touched me. And to think that so many years later the two of you are still together. What can anyone say about it except Congratulations!
As always, the highlight of this or any other week, a touching story written by a grand gal or as Sinatra would call her, a “dame,” a dame whose claim to fame is proclaimed by all who read her, she’s never tame, certainly not lame, her postings never the same, and boy can she play the game. If you ask me…God has granted her much luck I do declaim! We give thanks again, for another gem from our beloved Mrs. Ammo Grrrll.
"And now she's old and batty enough to play Auntie Mame..." Awesome as usual, my dear friend. AG
Believe it or not Ammo...I was going to work "Mame" into the riff but I wondered if anyone would remember her.
12-12-15 was a Sunday. It's far enough back to fall outside of the Fogey Rule.
Feb 14th is the Feast of St. Hershey. It has become largely secular. And before you completely sneer at the idea of St. Hershey, look up Mr. Hershey's life story.
Susan has touched briefly on what must have been a difficult part of the Vass story. Susan was raised a Christian. Christians and Jews have sometimes made successful mixed-marriages but Susan became a Conservative Jew. With all the goodwill and acceptance that the families may have provided, that's a difficult transition.
Thanks for the intel Deb.
I learn more here in one morning reading the comments appended to Ammo's column than I learned in my three years in the seventh grade.
Wait a minute Ol' Tony! In the past you used that line for the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. By the start of the 8th grade you must have been getting gray hair?
Ol' Mel
Yes. His civics teacher in 9th grade had him do "show and tell" about voting that year for the first time.
I heard he did get to skip the 13th grade. He went right to 14.
Awesome! AG
Ahhh...college. The best fourteen years of my life.
Busted...I've been busted by Mel.
It did not take me three years to get through the seventh grade. I was an honor student. In fact, Sister Loretta said to me "Tony...we've had you long enough and it will be an honor for me to graduate you right now plus the parents are pestering me to move you along...good luck in high school.
Tony is on fire today!
He's on fire every day. He douses it with single malt.
Don't try dousing it with Everclear.
Here's to you Bill!
Thank you George.
Maybe Sinatra was born in a hotel on the second 12th.
Now that's an even better story.
30 years ago, I had an arranged marriage. My Californian spouse had only one cousin, who was English and happened to be a good friend of mine. When her cousin Brian got married, his wife decided that all his single friends were a bad influence on him, and decided to marry them all off. She had great success in choosing good wives for all of us, but her choice for me was six thousand miles away, and it took several years before she brought her daughter over to England to meet the relatives. When she did, I got a call telling me that my engagement party was to be on Thursday, and to arrive by 7:00 (remember that I had never met Marilyn).
The evening was a great success, with lots of jokes about the situation, and then Marilyn and Dana went back to America. A year later I went over to visit with them, after which Marilyn’s friends told her to return to England immediately and “snap him up”. So she did, and a year later she packed up all her stuff (including Dana) and moved to England, where we were married. The rest, as they say, is history.
Louis. You really lucked out. Your "arranged marriage" could have been to the Honorable Diana Frances Spencer of Norfolk...I hear she was a handful and always complaining.
But now that you are an All America...you and your Marilyn join us in our never-ending task, improving America and making her work better. (Sinatra used to say that just before singing "The House I Live In.")
As long as we're referring to "Fiddler on the Roof":
"I hear they've picked a bride for me; I hope she's pretty."
"For Papa, make him a scholar,
for Mama, make him rich as a king,
for me, well I wouldn't holler if he were as handsome as anything.
Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match..."
"You've heard that he's a terror; he'll beat you every night.
But only when he's sober, so you're all right!"
What a wonderful tale! The Susan and Joe Got Together story! Susan, thanks for giving us a glimpse into your history. It is full of what I like to call "God moments."
I met my hubby at college, too. Short version of my story: I was struggling over story problems (remember those? now they're called word problems), and my big brother introduced me to his friend from an astronomy class. Hubby-to-be was the first person not to tell me I was dumb because I couldn't do these problems. Of course I fell in love! Took him a long time to follow suit, but 7 years later we were married...and sometimes I wonder. If Fred had not taken that astronomy class and met my brother, would Fred and I have met? We were both commuter students, and our base was the library; I had seen Fred studying in the library before I met him. But I don't think I would have sat at the same table with Fred, had he not met my brother. And of course helped me with the silly story problems! Coincidence? To me and Fred, it's our own personal God moment, one of dozens. It's nice to take the time to remember these, and Susan, I'm glad you share yours with us every week.
MTG: As a student of metrics and analysis, I will make the scary point that the world is, in truth, one vast collection of story problems. The utility of mathematics is to take the stories and the numbers and figure out what happened or what will happen.
Yes, I know. My husband has an MS in applied math and statistics. He does rendevouz and prox ops stuff. Believe me, I know! ^_^ But it's ok. When I need to know how much fabric to buy to make, say, an Ohio Star quilt, he figures it out for me. Or how much yarn and how many rows of each color I need, to crochet a corner-to-corner blanket that's half green-and-white and half maize-and-blue (that one almost caused a riot in our house). I'm better than him at things like knowing how much hamburger to buy, or how much milk we need next week, stuff like that, things that don't require story problems to solve. HAHA! We're a good team. :)
I'll second Debbie's comment. Grocery shopping is a word problem. We're going to have hamburgers one night, tacos another night and meatloaf a third night. How many pounds of ground beef do I need?
Grocery shopping is one large story problem. "What will the kids enjoy? How much macaroni will I need? How many potatoes?"
You sound just like my husband. LOL! Once someone told me I have a very logical mind. My question was, then why can't I solve the problem of two trains travelling in opposite directions, one going fast the other going lickety-toot (faster than fast) and they arrive in a city at a different time--how many cars are behind the train engines? ^_^
When they arrive in the city? All of them.
Now if the train climbs mountains, you'll need to ask "which engine?"
Maize and blue? Green and white? Michiganders by chance?
How did you guess? LOL! We both grew up in the Lansing area (making us Trolls, of course, because we live below the Bridge). We both attended Michigan State. We live on the Gulf Coast of Texas now, have for 45 years, for Hubby's job.
We live in Oakland County - lots of “houses divided” around here!
Hope you’re enjoying the Texas coast!
So you're Trolls too! Yes, I suspect there are a lot of divided houses around you, given where you are. We enjoy the Texas coast except during hurricane season. ^_^
It could have been two ships passing in the night, but it turned out to be a great armada of ambition and talent that was a blessing for us and countless others, as well.
I think I told you that Hubby and I also met in a booth. My cousin had invited me to join her and some co-workers for a drink after work at a downtown Minneapolis restaurant/bar. As serendipity would have it, I was seated next to her boss. Forty-eight years later, he still delights in telling people we met in a bar, I pretend to be embarrassed, and it amuses us to see the looks on some faces.
We haven't had a Youtube yet today. Speaking of booths, here's Bill Cosby on Clark Kent in a phone booth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5T2ytlRTwA
I always love me some Bill Cosby but Mel...
...I give you one guess at what I love better (besides seeing bridges and trains blown up).
Youtubes of you-know-who twerking???
You got it in one.
Two touching stories in one day...we in the Commentariat are truly lucky.
By the by Trace.
It is true that black cats bring good luck?
Better ask Susan -- she should have doubles in the good luck department with the adoption of Cyrus and Cocoa.
MTG: As the caretaker of several black cats over some few years, I did not find that they seemed to affect my luck either way. The kittens I rescued from underneath Malvern Avenue in Buena Park were black.
Doing a little counting and reminiscing, I have had two occasions when I actively sought to acquire cats. I have had a lot more than two cats. The Cat Distribution System is no myth. (The Cat Distribution System means that you were not looking for a cat when you acquired one.) (Excuse me: when the cat acquired you.)
I can report that I've never actively sought to acquire a cat. However, there must be a glitch in the Cat Distribution System, because I have obviously been selected to receive all of the cats destined for the Petroski household.
I can't wait to see the cute photos.
A wonderful story, AG! But I’m on the side of divine intervention rather than luck - God has plans for us all.
During the summer between my two years of business school, I took an internship with Chrysler in Detroit. (All of my classmates kept shaking their heads. “Chrysler? Detroit???”)
Chrysler arranged for housing at the University of Windsor for all of its interns. One of the gals wanted to go to a particular bar for her birthday, where they had dancing. I generally DO NOT like bars, but decided I should be social and pleasant, so agreed to go.
The bar was in what I later learned was not a great part of town, but not as bad as what might typically come to mind when you think of “Detroit.” We five girls went in and sat at a high top (which I also hate). No sooner did we get our drinks than 5 guys came over and each asked one of us to dance. I was inclined to decline, but decided to be polite and try to enjoy myself. Who knew that fella would become my husband of 36 years this April?
At the end of the evening, he asked for my phone number and, not being overly familiar with Canada, I gave him the wrong area code. Fortunately, he figured it out.
I later learned that the 5 fellas had never been to that bar before.
So…luck? Or divine intervention? That’s a whole lotta “luck.” I’m inclined toward divine intervention. Same with you and Joe.
A GREAT story, Susan Marie! Did any of the other 4 young ladies end up with any of the other young gentlemen? AG
Alas they did not. One was already married, so…. And one did date her dance partner (my husband’s best friend and the best man at our wedding), but it didn’t last since she had a serious boyfriend back home.
"...serious boyfriend back home." Sweetheart and I were annoyingly single when we met up at the training session described elsewhere.
Great to hear this one Susan!
I’m hoping there’s a torrent of This is How I Met My Spouse stories.
I graduated with my Masters and had $150 in the bank. There was a round trip special from SoCal to Dallas for $148 so I called my oldest brother’s wife and asked if I could come visit.
She said “Oh yes! I’ll introduce you to the babysitter.” I replied “I don’t want to meet anybody, I just want some time off.”
Margaret was sitting on a patio chair watching my nieces and nephews in the pool when I arrived. 44 years later I can still see her sitting there.
We went out with my brother and sister-in-law to Judge Roy Bean’s that night … ten days later I asked her to marry me!
Fantastic story ( as so many above and I assume below). I think I've told how my Margaret (Peggy) and I met. Goldwater girl, remember?
A good story is always worth repeating. 😁
Nice...
My 7 yo nephew came to me about five days in asking “Uncle Paul, you’re moving’ a little fast, aren’t you?” I suspect he heard that from one of the parental units!
Hope you are doing well, Bill. We met at CC1
I am well, thank you, as I hope you are as well.
"The little boy was warned not to tell anyone onboard they were Jews."
We will know that the Democrats have gone full Jew Hate when they stop suppressing the story of their hero FDR's efforts to keep America as judenfrei as possible and instead start celebrating that nasty deed.
All I've got, except to join in the general blessing of good luck. My Valentine's Day in 1984 was a complete and utter disaster. I went to bed in my $3,500 commercial building with no running water and asked God if there was not a woman somewhere who thought like I do. On February 15, 1984, I met the future Mrs. Blackwater.
There should be a law against having to work on AG day, but that wouldn't include family emergencies. See y'all at lunchtime.
I think your own incredible meeting Mrs. Blackwater story would make a terrific novel. AG
It would have to be published posthumously. Because she'd kill me if I wrote it.
You certainly wouldn't need to hire a domestic from Quebec.
MAID services would be superfluous.
Very nice.
A long loving marriage is the greatest treasure on this earth.
You know Bryan, it has taken a lot of my earthly treasure to purchase a long and loving marriage.
I sit in church, and some of the churchmen preach that if I am good, that I will spend eternity with my bride. But I didn't sign-up for that...it was "til death do you part."
Mine departed 18 years ago and now l only have the eternity part to look forward to. She has hopefully remembered to leave the side door open a nothch
Oh my goodness, CReed. Now I have to finish making dinner while my eyes are leaking. AG
Don't be sad. I had the best 32 years of my life with my best friend. She literally took me around the world. Too many great times and memories to spend time being sad. Again, I hope that she has left the side door ajar.
I hope (probably in vain) that Minette does not read this, Tony
The romance quotient on this one is goshawful small, yes.
She would understand it's just a joke...honey...I do want to spend all eternity with you.
Everyday we could watch the romantic movie "From Here to Eternity."
An interesting definition of eternity I heard from a pastor:
A little bird carries grains of sand, one at a time, from the Atlantic coast over to the Pacific coast. When he has carried every grain across the country the first second of eternity will have passed!
Ol' Mel
A few bucks don't hurt.
Unless you get the antlers where it counts.
Which means you're fine unless you get the point. Perhaps Lloyd's existence was less painful than I imagined.
I believe that God makes options open to us and we choose which paths we take. You two were definitely meant to be —— and your readers are also happy it was so!
I think it is always fun to hear how couples meet. I often ask long time married couples how they met. I have never considered it luck that I married my husband of 53 years. In fact, when we met the first time he put his arm around me and I thought him quite forward. Needless to say, that all changed over the next few months. Four children, 10 grandchildren plus our Tajik “daughter”, her husband and their four children, we have been blessed beyond measure with riches money can’t buy!
Hey, you made me realize I have a Siberian "daughter", her daughter and the daughter's two sons. Bad luck and bad politics have kept us apart since February 2022.
Sweetheart and I took paths rather more winding to meet up. He had been in the Air Force for ten years and I for five when we were sent from separate bases to a training program. We were to be instructors in a pilot program for USAF medics.
Of course people in temporary situations should assume that a relationship is a mere fling. We traded a few phone calls after we returned to our bases. Then, a few days after Christmas, he called me from California. "Oops, sweetie, someone just came in," he said. "I'll call back in a little while." My parents and my brother were all working evening shifts that night.
Just when I was expecting Geoff to call, there was a knock on the door. Yes. He'd called from a truck stop to make sure I would be at home!
The fling continues. The Fogey Rule prohibits a clear statement of dates, but if you can figure out half of fourscore you'll get the picture. We have continued to thank God for lining things up but Geoff remains a bit miffed at how long God took about it.
Miracles are a serious theological problem, though. How do some people gain this grace -- your survival of a difficult pregnancy to be born and another to be a mother, a couple of times when traffic situations came out better than expected, sweetheart and me as an item -- and others who seem to deserve well of God's grace are sore afflicted by circumstances rather than by bad decisions?
Wow. Inspirational stories are filling the comments today.
Susan, what a great story of your chance initial meeting with Joe. I am soooo looking forward to seeing the Netflix version of it!! (sarcasm naturally becomes me)
My initial in person meeting with my future wife was definitely a chance encounter. Let’s just say my reputation proceeded me. I was friends with her boss way back in the 1900s when the internet was in its infancy. In those days I was usually referred to by my last name (call it XYZ for now), and I would call her boss daily and tell him a joke I had read online — some of which might be considered objectionable by today’s HR standards — and he would relay it to her as the “XYZ joke of the day”. Suffice to say, Mr. XYZ was not someone she ever wanted to meet!
As CHANCE would have it, she and I happened to both attend a social gathering at the same time, and I introduced myself by my first name, and we hit it off fabulously. About 5 minutes later, her boss who was also there yelled across the room to me and asked “Hey XYZ, any new jokes today?”. My future wife looked at me and incredulously said “You? You are XYZ??!!!”
Alas, by that point the damage was done and there was no going back.
I am still waiting on receiving competing offers from Disney and Netflix for the movie version rights to the story.
"I was friends with her boss way back in the 1900s when the internet was in its infancy."
Nice elidement of the Fogey Rule!
Uh … Pizza Man: I’m vaguely remembering that scenario in a Hallmark movie. ( j/k )
As another commenter suggested, the successful are not necessarily more 'lucky' but just better attuned to see opportunities for *good* luck. Then there are those who say that one MAKES ones own luck. I think both might be true - making your own luck and also keeping one's eyes and ears - and MIND! - OPEN to seizing positive opportunities.
There is also plenty of bad luck in the world - passengers on the Titanic, or any of the planes involved on 9/11.
There is a very interesting movie with Gwenneth Paltrow called "Sliding Doors" that examines 'the path not taken' by even the difference of a few seconds from missing one train versus another. I find it fascinating to think about how (or why?) that happens.
I really liked that movie. I've seen it several times.
In the old days, the words "Gwyneth Paltrow" would have had me heading for Blockbuster. These days....naaaah.
Even if Blockbuster still existed...
The notion that little, sometimes almost unthinking, choices can have huge consequences has always fascinated me. I was thinking about that again just the other day when reading a Beatles book that came out last year called John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs. Most have heard the story: His friend Ivan talked 15-year-old Paul into going to a little church garden party in an unfamiliar (to Paul) section of Liverpool. The organizers had booked a local skiffle band for the kids, led by a 16 (almost 17)-year-old named John. They met and, even though John was older and cooler, they both were obsessed by music and got along.
What if Paul would just have told Ivan that he had other things to do that day? It would have seemed like no big deal, but it probably would have drastically changed the course of their lives and, to a lesser but still significant degree, the lives of millions of people around the world.
But, of course, neither they nor we would have known it.
Hey there Bob. The lucky encounter you describe was truly eventful.
"The boys" as they were known, wrote that memorable song, "Garden Party" to commemorate the event.
"I went to a garden party, to meet up with my new friends.
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air."
(The boys weren't quite the songwriters at 15 and 16 that they later became.)
Tony,
That's a sure hit!
Ricky did it better.
Sweeeet transition transition from a Friday the 13th nod to superstition and luck to a wonderful love story. And, as several others have noted tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
Shabbat Shalom folks!
Lucky 13th to you Ira!