Pick-up sticks or Good Luck vs. Bad Luck

I am often the butt of other peoples humor, sometimes intentionally, sometimes completely inadvertently. I like to think I have a good sense of humor, so I tend to go along with it because I like a good laugh myself.

Got to talking to DR this evening and it put me to mind of something that happened a few years ago. DR's been doing some work for Toby to make some extra walking-around-money. Mostly hauling off a lot of brush from Tobys old house. Tobe don't believe in doing no yard work if he can pay somebody to do it for him.

Many moons ago, when I was in college and flat-ass broke, I hauled brush for Toby. I was carrying it off by the pickup load and was making just enough to keep myself in gas money.

It was in the heat of the Summer and I had my old F-150 just about loaded down. I pulled down the driveway and was getting ready to leave, when I noticed I'd missed a branch. I stopped to throw it in the truck and when I did, it hit the back window.

Now, it was hot. That truck is black and it had been sitting in the sun, soaking up the heat all day. That limb hit the back glass jusssst right. It shattered into a blue-million pieces whilst I stood there with my jaws agape catchin' flies and thinking whatthehellhaveIdonenow?

Like I said, I was broke. I knew that a new back window was going to cost me more than I'd made that day (truth be known, couple of other days besides). I think at the time, you could get one of those el-cheapo sliding back windows for about 75 bucks, which was about three weeks worth of gas money for me.

Now, I had pulled the truck out by the side of the road, which happened to be Highway 41 of Allman Brothers fame, so y'see there was quite a bit of traffic.

There were several people over at Tobys there at the time and we were all standing around in a knot lookin' at what I'd done. I was being laughed at and told quite pungently what a dumbass I was when a truck drove by, slowed down, then turned around at the next driveway and came back and pulled in front of me.

Guy jumps out of the truck and says "Hey! Do you need a back winder?"

Well damn, ain't he a genius... must be one of them rocket scientists I hear tell of... "Yessir, it appears I do."

"Well, I got one over here in my garage I'll let ya have fer 20 bucks and I'll even go git it and brang it to ya."

Naturally, I was somewhat stunned by this turn of events! I quickly told him I'd take it. I didn't quite yank his arm off, but I came close. This was not a situation where you look a gift horse in the mouth.

I hit Toby up for an advance to pay the man, but Toby and the rest of the crowd were laughing so hard, Toby paid for the window in addition to paying me for hauling off the brush. He said the laugh was worth 20 bucks any day of the week.

He also said "You're the luckiest SOB I've ever met in my life."

My reply to that was "If I'm so all-fired lucky, I wouldn't have busted the back glass out of the truck to begin with."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have had this opportunity to make fun of you then."