Heads Up

Lucky penny my ass.

Last week, I found a penny on the ground, heads up. It was new, so clearly all of its karmic power hadn't been used up. All the requirements for a good luck penny, right?

Then explain to me how the following succession of events could happen:

First, as soon as I had picked up the penny, a woman ran into me with her shopping cart. She knocked me off balance, and into a dirty puddle of water. As I was getting up and brushing myself off, a car backed into me without looking, running over my foot.

Now, all of this could have been a fluke. Stranger stuff has happened, and a couple of bumps and bruises didn't have me convinced that luck had anything to do with it.

And then I went out to lunch. They brought me the wrong food (twice), and I realized that I had left my wallet at home when it came time to pay the bill.

Two hours and three loads of dishes later, I was out of the restaurant and headed over to my car... which had two of its tires slashed and a dent in the rear fender.

At this point, I was pretty much convinced the penny was anything but lucky.

As my day continued I also locked myself out of my office, stubbed my toe on a curb, and tore my pants when I bent over to pick up a file I dropped.

During the walk to the subway on my way home, I finally decided to get rid of the penny. I'm not superstitious by nature, but today had me second-guessing myself. Ever since I had picked up that damned penny, I've had nothing but bad luck.

Lucky penny my ass.

I took the penny in hand and chucked it as hard as I could. I heard the metallic "tink" of the penny ricocheting off the subway railing, followed by a woman's anguished cry. My heart sank as I saw a young woman clutching her head and rubbing one of her eyes. The penny's final parting gift for me.

"I'm so sorry..." I started.

When her eyes (or eye, rather) met mine, I took a breath. She was gorgeous. I'd like to think that it was love at first sight... or even that she felt half the attraction for me that I felt for her... but however it happened, that was how I met my wife.

Lucky penny indeed.


(414 words)