When Good Luck Strikes

Have you ever been minding your own business when all of a sudden something glorious happens? Maybe that excitingly fortunate thing for you was winning a $10 lotto ticket, someone buying your meal at a restaurant, getting an unexpected promotion, or being the lucky caller on a radio station that scored you a trip for two to Cancun.  Whatever it was that you’ll never forget, be sure to share that story so it lives on. I believe that the more people hear stories of good fortune, the more hope it gives others that something unprecedented might be hiding around the corner. Also, in a world with Google and instant gratification, our memories seem to be waning and you just may forget about your unreal experience and that would be a straight up shame and a half. The art of storytelling needs to be kept alive!

My insanely awesome experience came completely unexpected on a stormy weeknight back in the late nineties. A group of friends and I were running late to the Britney Spears concert at the Rosemont Theater in Illinois. We had wastefully spent time doing our hair and make up only to have it washed right off by the torrential downpour as we sprinted across the parking lot into the venue.

We heard the opening band, O-Town, wrapping up and people cheering which sent us into a sprint to get to our seats.  At this moment of half running/half trying to wipe our faces off from the rain, a tall man that looked like he was also in a rush was walking quickly toward us and waving at us asking us to slow down. Annoyed, we snapped that we were running late, and we all but ran right past him in our haste.

He asked us to please just stop for one second so he could tell us something. Irritated that he was slowing us down, we all looked at each other and rolled our eyes wondering what he could possibly want.

“How would you like to go on stage with Britney?”

” Huh?”

” I have  passes that are for special stage access. You will get to watch the whole show from a side stage just off the main stage. Would you like them? I need to give them away and your group has the perfect number of people.”

No WAY. We were all dying from a glee-filled induced adrenaline surge.

Of course we obliged and took the passes off his hands. He then escorted us to a side stage just off the main stage and we went up a small set of stairs and waited with a few other girls for Britney to come out. We jumped, and clapped, and squealed at the unexpected fantastical twist of our night. Just minutes ago we were parking far away, running through a rainstorm, missing the entire opening act, and worried about missing Brit’s first song.  Now we were going to be just feet from her!

What was even more coincidentally awesome? One of the other girls on the platform was my friend from school! School as in my college that was 4 hours away from where we were standing. What were the odds of that? Seriously. The others said they had won this occasion from a Pepsi can contest. What the? All we had done was sprint into the theater soaking wet and anxious as hell to get to our seats!

This was at the height of Britney’s career also, might I add. So seeing her, especially this close up, was beyond exciting. We watched the show with perma-grins plastered on our faces the entire time.

About 45 minutes to an hour before the show ended, a young man in a dark gray or black hoodie walked up the stairs and onto the small platform. Since there were only a few of us on it, I was able to get a good look at him before he turned to watch Britney. It was Justin Timberlake! This was back when they were dating. None of us bothered him, but to say there was an electrical current of excitement running through each and every one of us would be an understatement.

The show ended and we talked about it the whole ride back home. We could not get over our sheer luck of being at the right place at the right time. It was an unbelievable experience that none of us would ever forget.

Have you had an amazing experience where dumb luck rained down upon you? Think about it, share your story with your friends, or write about it. It’s pretty cool to reminisce back to that space and time. Life can tap us on the shoulder and take us by complete surprise sometimes and it’s important to take time out and acknowledge the extraordinarily good stuff sometimes.