Lucky pigs

About a year ago when I was visiting my family in Illinois, I went to a small farm auction to see what I could find.  I knew the stuff would be cheap, and I thought perhaps I would be able to get some items to sell on EBay since I had fallen upon a desperate financial period in my life.  I was drawn to a box of crystal, old tins, and some depression glass.  These were all probably valuable to some degree, but what caught my eye was a pair of very unique kissing pigs.  I use the term unique in it's most tactful sense.  They are a reddish, terra-cotta color which has been spattered with tiny black spots.  It's difficult to tell if they are actually pigs or dogs or some unknown mythical beasts.  But, to keep things simple they were immediately dubbed, "MY LUCKY KISSING PIGS!"  Scoff as you will.  Smirk with my family and friends. Enjoy yourself.

I made the thousand mile journey back home leaving several items behind so I could bring my pigs safely back with me.  I placed them in an honorary spot on my kitchen counter for all would-be critics to admire.  Well, that they did, but not so much admire as criticize, laugh, snicker, and cajole.  However, I was not deterred.  I patted my lucky pigs and said, "You won't be laughing when these pigs bring me health, wealth, and happiness." 

A few days after showing off my pigs I received $6 cash in the mail.  I had no idea where the check came from or why I was receiving it.  That was the first of many an odd turn of events.  My business was on very, very shaky ground.  I had shut of my credit card, let everything lapse except the phone and my email account, and was seriously searching for steady employment.  My property taxes were due in less than two weeks and I had no idea where I might come up with the cash to pay them.  I was feeling a bit desperate.  I had $25 in grocery money in my pocket and my bank account was getting dangerously close to negative numbers.  The fridge was broken, the heat wasn't working, and my timeshare maintenance fee was beyond past due.  I had had problems with stolen mail, incorrect routing numbers at my bank, and the whole world seemed as if it was working toward seeing how I'd do living on the streets. I was getting very concerned.

Out of the blue, my "practical" daughter gave me a call and asked if I'd be interested in heading over to the local casino boat with her.  I, of course, said no, I couldn't afford it.  She suggested taking $20 each and if we used more than half we would quit and sit on the deck enjoying the cruise.  Besides, there was free food and free entertainment on board.  So, reluctantly, I agreed to go.  On the way she stopped by the house, commented on my pigs and I told her to pat them for good luck.  I also gave them a nice little pat on the head and out the door we went.

We took as much time as we could touring the boat, having our free lunch, and looking at the ocean before we started to slowly spend our $10.  Things were looking bleak when, suddenly,  I heard a siren, then flashing lights,  and then ching, ching, ching of lots and lots coins falling into the tray a few machines away.  My daughter had won the jackpot!  Several hundred dollars that she had said she needed were in her cup.  Her face was aglow. I flushed with excitement.  At least the day was not a total loss.

Having all but given up, I had gambled away all but my last dollar.  I knew that as soon as I spent it my fun was over and the guilt for having wasted what little money I had would set in, so we walked around the ship, had another snack, and observed the other gamblers.  Finally, I decided to drop my last dollar into a dollar slot machine and go up on deck for the rest of the cruise......but, to my surprise, as the numbers slowly came to rest, first one 7, then another 7.   The machine slowed.  and paused.  My heart sank.  Suddenly, the third 7 fell into place. The siren screamed, the lights flashed, and coins began dropping into the tray at an alarming rate.  Then stopped.  I thought, at least I have enough to pay my car insurance.  But, when the attendant came I learned that the machine had run out of coins and I had much more money coming.  Amazingly, my winnings exactly matched the amount I needed to pay my property taxes.  My daughter played a few more coins and won a couple hundred more dollars.  We decided it would be an optimum time to go out on deck and enjoy the sunshine on the sea.  We discussed my "lucky pigs" with some skepticism.  But, here we were with cash in hand - both having the exact amounts we needed.

Upon hearing this, my other daughter laughed at us (as did her husband), but we decided to go to a different casino the following weekend just to prove that my pigs were lucky.  We all left from my house shortly after the now ritual "patting of the pigs".  We entered the casino with limited funds, but were immediately greeted by a casino employee who gave us each a voucher for $40 in free play due to a special promotion they were having.  We decided that once the free plays were used up, we'd go home rather than using money we shouldn't be spending anyway.  Soon, we heard CHING, CHING, CHING -- we each were winning beyond our free play money.  We started cashing out and realized we had all won more than $100 each at no expense of our own.  Things were looking up and my pigs were gaining credibility.

We haven't done any gambling since, but there have been other exciting events that have definitely brightened my life since moving my "lucky kissing pigs" to Florida.  I will write another installment in a day or two.  I want to conserve some space since this is supposed to be a blog, not a novel.  Have a great day!