Tracking, Lady Luck’s Journey

“How can anyone believe that good and bad luck comes in a series of threes?” asked Jack. He was a typical New Yorker that often felt invincible and dismissed anyone that believed in such folklore.

Yet on March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the novel Corona Virus was a global pandemic, Jack and many others had little idea of what this event portended for the future.

Within a week, the Governors of both California and New York issued stay-at-home and shelter-in-place mandates. Similar actions were soon ordered by other Governors across the country. Still, Jack told his wife Calista, “this is probably not a big deal, and everything should be back to normal within a month or two.” Sadly, however, our way of life changed for longer than anyone imagined and in ways that few predicted.

Just three months later, Jack received a disturbing call from his manager, informing him that the car repair shop that employed him as a mechanic for nearly 30 years had decided to furlough his job for an indefinite period.

His first reaction was denial. “Calista how could a company that I devoted nearly 30 years of my life, suddenly throw me out on the street?” he said. Yet as the news finally sank in; his disbelief morphed into anger. “That is so unfair,” became a phrase that Jack repeated often to anyone that listened!

While Jack listened to stories about others worrying about paying their rent, mortgage, and, groceries Jack’s focus remained elsewhere. The first thing that entered his mind was how he would preserve his identity without being employed at a firm that had always labeled him as one of their top mechanics.

After all, to earn extra money, Jack began his work career at the young age of 10, selling newspapers, running errands for neighbors and, doing anything he could do to ease the financial burden of his lower-income parents. At the ripe age of 50, Jack was an empty nester with his three daughters long gone. Jack had always planned to work until he turned 60 before retiring.

Although Calista and his daughters told him not to worry because media reports suggested that generous U.S. Government safety net programs would be coming soon, Jack scoffed at such thoughts. He had been wired to work and carry the financial burden of others, his entire life, and it would be difficult for him to pivot towards depending on anyone including the U.S. Government to rescue him.

Jack told his family that throughout his life; he felt he was sailing in a beautiful ship across both smooth and choppy waters, and as the captain of that ship – he had always managed to keep his vessel afloat. He was especially proud of the fact that he was able to hold onto his job during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis!

Now, this “silly pandemic,” as Jack called it, had suddenly caused him to become shipwrecked within a deserted island. Fortunately, Jack had always been resourceful in getting things done as evidenced by his ability to fix cars even when others gave up!

With this same level of self-confidence, Jack began preparing to find a way to survive. Much to his credit, Jack noticed that the world had changed due to the pandemic. With more time on people’s hands, he noticed that some individuals had begun to pivot towards buying auto collectibles. He read an online Ad of a person looking for a car expert that could advise on the condition of car engines. These collectors sought advice on the condition of the car and on what was needed to improve the performance of cars they intended to purchase.

He answered the Ad and suddenly found a money-making side gig that he could embrace until his company called him back to work. Thankfully, his 30-years of “work experience,” had suddenly found a home under the guise of “Auto Consulting.” Almost immediately, Jack started working with Francisco who had long sought a person that could make a quick initial assessment of a car’s condition by just turning on the engine. Soon thereafter, Jack gained multiple referrals from Francisco to work with others.

Then exactly, one year later after the pandemic began – Jack received a call from his former manager Mario. With great excitement, his former manager told him, “this is your lucky day, we need you to come back to work as soon as possible to help us with our surge in customer demand.”

Jack and Mario talked for over an hour recalling many of their joyful and painful work experiences. But as the call went on, Jack suddenly began to question why he had to quickly jump on this rescue ship after they had abandoned him so abruptly when they didn’t need him. As Jack listened to his manager, remind him that there would be lots of overtime available, meaning he would be working long hours, he soon realized how much he was enjoying his newly found freedom. In his new gig, Jack was the one that decided how many hours or how many assignments he would take on each week.

With such thoughts in mind, Jack respectfully turned down his manager’s initial and even second job offer that yielded an even more attractive compensation package! Jack felt that after being shipwrecked for so long, he had found greater happiness in his new career and was no longer interested in hopping aboard any rescue ship willing to transport him back to his previous career.

Now when Jack is asked whether he believes that good and bad luck often came in threes, he quickly says, “Yes, they do, and I am living proof of it!”

“I went from experiencing a string of bad luck events to a series of good luck events!” “So, the next time, I am down on my luck,” Jack said, “I will simply take a deep breath and wait patiently for lady luck to make her move!”