Better still to be born lucky rich!

I met a lady recently who told me she had just won a car in a draw. After congratulating her, I enquired if she is a ‘lucky person’ and had she ever won anything previously.

‘Yes, a few years back, I won first prize in a draw as well,’ she replied. ‘And what was the prize,’ I asked. ‘A car!’ was the reply. We won’t go into the odds against winning even one car, but to do it a second time is obviously quite extraordinary.

This tale took me back to the time that I too won the same prize twice in a raffle. I only ever won three prizes in draws, and here I got two of them a few weeks apart.

I rarely do the Lotto, but on the other hand, I never pass on ‘lines’, draws and raffles for worthy, charitable, or sporting activities. Never a thought of winning (luckily for me) but just wanting to support the fundraiser. Now, you want to hear about the three prizes I won with particular emphasis on the two I won in the same draw.

I was a regular caller to a great newsagents shop, owned by Joe and Bridie Feely in Mullingar. Joe nailed me to join a ‘silver circle’ in aid of St Mary’s school in the town. A couple of weeks went by and one day when I dropped in for my ‘Examiner’, Joe greeted me with the good news that I had won a prize in the draw. ‘Only a fiver,’ said my friend, ‘it was the 6th prize of six… but sher isn’t a fiver a fiver.’ I thought to myself how much better would have been the first prize of £200, but I said nothing.

A fortnight or so later and I met Joe on the street. ‘You won £5 in our silver circle,’ were his first words. ‘I know,’ I said; don’t you remember giving it to me?’ ‘I do – but you won 6th prize again this week,’ was his answer. No car… but my third and greatest win was on the horizon!

On a Saturday evening, my good friend, Gerry Walsh (God rest Gerry, as well as Joe and Bridie) was exiting the Squash Club as I arrived. ‘There yar,’ said Gerry; ‘another minute and I would have missed you. I have the last ticket in my book for the Brownstown Hurling Club draw, and you always buy one.’ I thought of the green light at Nugent’s corner that might have been red. ‘Sure thing Gerry,’ I said, as I handed over the tenner, for the last ticket, for a draw to be held on the Monday night.

The following Tuesday morning, I received a call from my friend, telling me that I had won first prize. I was overjoyed and it couldn’t have come at a better time. That previous week I had booked to go to America for the 1994 World Cup. My anticipated excitement was tempered with guilt for spending so much money on myself when dosh was scarce enough. Gerry’s £1,000, as I thought, was a godsend.

Gerry arrived with the cheque on Tuesday night. I just held it between my fingers for ages without looking at it… and then I saw the ‘3’. First prize was £3,000 and not £1,000 as I expected. Houghton’s goal in Giant’s Stadium was worth the price and prize alone! It was truly the trip of a lifetime… apart from my honeymoon, of course. (That was a close one!)

This week’s column was intended to emphasise how difficult it is to be a winner in the Lotto and how the odds are stacked against you – and then my brother Sean goes and win’s €500 on a Lotto draw last week. Another brother, Camillus, gives each of us a €25 Lotto card every Christmas. I suspect that Camillus mixed up the cards by mistake and Sean got mine.

Back to the question of whether there are lucky people out there. I dish out for every draw and fundraiser brought to my attention, so wouldn’t you imagine I might have won something again since 1994? But I am happy with my one Brownstown success. It came when it was really needed and did I say we had a great time – with the Lads!

As for the real odds of winning. If you play poker, the odds of filling ‘four of a kind’ are 4,000/1 and of finding a ‘straight flush’ is 72,000/1 – but still it happens and has happened to this humble scribe.

But remember that being lucky in life isn’t about winning money. Martin Seligman, the author of ‘Positive Psychology’ wrote, ‘Optimists endure the same storms as pessimists, but weather them better and emerge from them better off.’

I know I am a lucky person: lucky for the good people I have around me. I am lucky enough to have the privileged platform of writing this column every week, for readers I care about.

I am lucky to have Mrs Youcantbeserious by my side. She knows this only too well – as can be seen by the Christmas card above which she handed me with great fanfare and singing ‘All I want for Christmas is you…’

Don’t Forget

The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.