Sometimes Life likes to throw a perfect storm of negativity at us to see how we'll react. As a Job-like frenzy of ill fate falls across our path like a wind-blown tree, we're forced to decide whether to forge ahead or turn tail and run.Yesterday was just such a trying occasion for good friends of mine who needed to prepare for a big catering job, and I had a front row seat to the drama as it unfolded. I won't go into the details here, but just as we got past one problem another popped up to test us. At times it seemed like the divine powers had lined up against the job and didn't want us to succeed.
The culmination of the day of bad luck was the damaging thunderstorms that hit Chicago yesterday afternoon, causing a very inconvenient power outage. I know we all felt like tossing in the towel a few times during the day, but we held it together and got through it. The prep work is now done, although a little later than we hoped, and the success is a little sweeter because of the tribulations we had to overcome. It will help us to appreciate those boring days when nothing unexpected happens, and everything goes according to plan.
As bad as it seemed at the time, it also could have been a lot worse. For example, today is the anniversary of the AD 79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried Pompeii and two other Roman cities in volcanic ash, killing thousands.
Rather than shoveling out ash, I just have to dig into my music libary and pull out an appropriate little tune. When things don't go our way, it's tempting to blame bad luck. We'll get a lot further, however, by looking at it as an opportunity to prove ourselves; a challenging maze of circumstance to navigate. I've always been fond of puzzles. That thunderstorm was actually pretty cool to watch too (check out this YouTube video), as long as you were safely inside.
Bad Luck
by Social Distortion
Some people like to gamble,
But you, you always lose.
Some people like to rock 'n' roll,
You're always singin' the blues
You gotta nasty disposition,
No one really knows the reason why,
You gotta bad, bad reputation,
Gonna hang your head down and cry...
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
Thirteen's my lucky number,
To you it means stay inside.
Black cat done crossed my path,
No reason to run and hide.
You're looking through a cracked mirror,
No one really knows the reason why.
Your enemies are gettin' nearer,
Gonna hang down your head and cry
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
Some people go to church on Sundays,
Others they pray at home.
You tell them that there ain't no God,
that they're better off standin' alone.
You're always scratchin'
At the eight ball,
No one really knows the reason why.
You get to the top and then you fall,
Gonna hang down your head and cry.
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
You got bad, bad luck
Bad, bad luck
6 comments:
as a wise man once said, :if it weren't for bad luck, i'd have no luck at all."
sometimes when it rains it pours bad luck and shit. It's just human nature to either ride it out or give up and mopeeee.
Leaving aside the bad luck theme, of which I am going through some issues at the moment, I loved the video. We rarely have extreme weather here.
Thanks Francis for accenting the positive. Perhaps such streak of bad luck was a diversion from what could have been. For example, a person late to work, had just avoided a terrible auto accident the other day, stating that could have been me if I had left home on time as usual. Maybe bad luck is good luck in disguise. Still remains the riddle, why others and not I. A puzzlement some Survivors of many devastating disasters ponder.
Hi Tracy, giving up doesn't get you anywhere but where you've already been, so might as well ride it out.
Hi Colin, yes setting aside the damage it caused to some folks, severe weather is pretty amazing to watch. The lightning shows by Lake Michigan are really beautiful. I hope your bad luck turns around soon.
Hi Jeane, I agree ... there might have been a silver lining in those clouds. I might have to travel to an alternate dimension to find out what happened without the storm though.
That's right Franscud...you've got to keep going..my daughter just lost her pet that she had for seventeen years yesterday....so last night I posted a final good-bye to her...today my daughter said I've cried and cried....well she just found two new little puppies and named them Jack and Jill...and, I just added the music "The Beat Goes On" to my site to replace the sad tunes that were playing....I say good for you and WTG!!:)~jackie(oh BTW...this is the daughter who's husband just got sent to Kuwait)....talk about bad luck...but we're moving on down the line:)
Hi Jackie, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's dog ... always a sad loss. I'm sure she had a full life at 17. I'm happy to hear she's got two new puppies, which will make it a little easier to move ahead. I hope her husband comes back soon.
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