Bad Luck - Trouble?

Bad Luck - Trouble?

It's surprising how often if you do the wrong thing, you not only get into trouble but suffer a double whammy with a dose of bad luck.

• Chinese Bad Luck
• Parachute troops drop in to jail
• Bad Luck - Blame the Messenger?
• Tree-man
• Ten Funny and Strange Ideas about Luck

Chinese Bad Luck

There is an ancient Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Bad luck? Good luck?  Who knows?'

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, 'Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?'

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg.  Everyone thought this very bad luck.  Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'

Some weeks later, an army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?

Parachute troops drop in to jail reports Metro online July 2007

Heavily-armed troops parachuted into a Colorado prison, but they were not staging a daring rescue they had simply landed off target.  Military officials said the 25 Special Operations Command forces were on a training mission. Their target was Fremont County Airport but they ended up in a field in the grounds of Fremont Correctional Facility instead.

Thankfully, armed prison guards were able to identify the incomers as soldiers and held their fire, but the defence department refused to say exactly who they were. 'We don't know who they were and I'm not sure we'll ever know who they were,' said the Colorado Department of Corrections. 'Everyone acted appropriately.'

From the parachutists' point of view it could have been worse!

Tree-man

Police in America have arrested a man who robbed a bank 'disguised' as a tree. CCTV footage shows the man entering the bank with branches and leaves taped to his body.

After patiently waiting in the queue with fellow customers, the man made his move, ordering the bank cashier to fill a bag full of cash, Sky News reports. Unfortunately for the suspect, a dye pack inside the bag exploded. Also in a second stroke of bad luck, the man's face could be clearly seen by the CCTV camera through his foliage. He was later arrested at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.  See more bad luck stories

Anonymous Accountant

An accountant in Salem, Pennsylvania, has been charged with 'defiant trespass', which carries a two-year prison sentence.  His alleged crime? He spoke at a public meeting, objecting to a new sewage disposal plan, for 11 minutes instead of the allotted five.

Bad Luck - Blame the Messenger?

A woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every day.

One day, when he came to, he motioned her to come nearer. He whispered, eyes full of tears, 'You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When our house burnt down, you were there. When my health started failing, you were by my side. You know what?'

'What dear?' she gently asked.

'I think you are bad luck,' he said.

Yet More Bad Luck

Ten Funny and Strange Ideas about Luck

1. He that is afraid of bad luck will never know good. - Russian proverb
2. I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five. - Stephen Wright
3. It is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday. - American Proverb
4. I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me and the second one didn't. - Patrick Murray
5. Do you believe that getting married on a Friday brings bad luck ? Of course, why would Friday be an exception? - Anon
6. If a funeral car passes you should hide your thumb. – Japanese belief
7. A black cat crossing the street in front of you causes bad luck.
8. A rabbit's foot, a four-clover leaf, or a horseshoe, may ward off bad luck to the owner.
9. Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
10. Luck never made a man wise. - Seneca

Some Superstitions About 'Bad Luck'

• Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder.
• Seven years bad luck to break a mirror. The superstition is supposed to have originated in ancient times, when mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods.
• Unlucky to spill salt. If you do, you must throw it over your shoulder to counteract the bad luck.
• Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors.
• The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. See: http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/jokes/jokes_friday_13.htm
• Unlucky to put new shoes on the table. Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.
• Unlucky to see one *magpie, but lucky to see two:

Finally a Success Story

A farmer in Iowa has bred cows which are less than three feet tall.  He is selling them as pets at $1,000 each.

Footnote:
Please send us your 'Bad Luck Trouble' stories

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