Human Catalysts of Chance?

This is a topic I've been dwelling on. Sorry, there is a lot of reading...I should have truncated...

It seems to me that some people defy the odds, constantly. One person in mind, is one of my best friends, Calvin (that's what we'll call him).

When I say 'defy the odds', I don't mean he's super lucky--in fact, he's one of the lousiest gamblers I've ever met. He makes bad monetary decisions and is financially irresponsible. When given the opportunity to hang on to his cash or make a poorly informed bet--he'll choose the bet every time. It's something I've seen him do time and again and have let him off of debts each time he loses a bet to me. (hoping I can teach him lessons through kindness.)

What IS MEANT by 'defy the odds', is Calvin's uncanny ability to attract the WRONGEST kind of energy. I have countless examples of this, but will concentrate on the big ones. The ones that are documented. He has been on the news a few times and in the newspaper as well.

Everywhere we go together, I'm ready to ball my fists and swing for the fences, or run like hell, or be prepared to talk to the police. Why? Because he's a catalyst. Things happen when he is around. Just Calving being Calvin disrupts something in the cosmos and the 'gods' take over. Things happen around him; I cannot stress that enough. Here a few examples of what I mean:

A few months ago, Calvin and I were returning home from an irrigation job at a farm in our hometown. It was about 2am; I decided to head home, he decided to hit up a 24-hour breakfast shack. On his way, he notices just the legs of a person laying face up sticking out of some shrubs at the side of an intersection. While observing the strange sight, he sees the legs get dragged into the brush--clearly by another person. His cellphone was dead, so he decided to call the police at the restaurant when he got there. When he arrived, police were already eating at the diner. Calvin told the police what he saw then proceeded to order his food. When he got his food he noticed the police were still eating and hadn't taken action. He took his plate over to their table and sat himself down. He told them that it would be in their best interest to check out what he saw and told them he was dead serious. After a short glare, one of the police radioed in the report. Moments later, the responding officer calls for backup. The officers in the diner rushed out. Within the hour, Calvin was getting called back--the officers letting him know that they stopped a killer in the act. The man had beaten a woman unconscious and was in the process of strangling her to death when the responding officers showed up.

Several years ago, Calvin was at a friends trailer visiting. The trailer was on a lot directly across the street from a video rental store. He was on the 'porch' overhang sitting on an outdoor rocker. He was talking loudly with his friend who was inside at the time. Calvin noticed a blue Sentra pull up and park in front of the video store. The occupants got out of the car and went into the video store. They came out with a bag and entered their vehicle. The SECOND the driver door shuts, a hooded individual sprints into the parking lot and up to the car windshield. The individual proceeds to empty 12 rounds into the two in the car--finishing them both off with 2 head shots each. Calvin watched every second of it with his mouth dropped open. When the shooter retreated he ran across the trailer park and Calving realized he knew the shooter's identity. Needless to say, Calvin was the prosecuting witness in a very well known local murder case. The 15 year old shooter received life in prison.

About a year ago, I received a call from Calvin. He had just finished a taco-eating contest with a group of his friends and was outside their house on the phone with me. I had asked him his plans and was seeing if he wanted to maybe stop by my place. He was laughing about something (not going to say what) when I heard "WHOA, WHOAAAAA" then a horrible crash that sounded like an explosion and the twisting of metal. Oddly enough, while Calvin was standing there talking to me on the phone, a drunk driver had careened through a neighbors front lawn fence and was headed right towards him. He dove out of the way and the car piled through a metal community mailbox and then into a parked truck. The driver then got out of the car and ran for it. Calvin, not meaning to be outdone, ran after and tackled him and waited for the police to arrive.

Within the last year, Calvin was strapped for cash after losing a bet. He decided to sell his junked up F150 that was taking up space in his parking lot. He put the car up the nickel ads for $750. That day he was called 3 times by people wanting to buy the truck for full price. He told each one that he'd received offers and he then got counter-offers for up to $875. Waiting for another offer the next day, he gets a call from a younger sounding person who only had $580. For one reason or another, he accepted the kids offer. (To this day, I have no idea why.) The kid showed up, checked out the truck, forked over $500 (Calvin reduced the price for him, no idea why again), and drove off. About two months later, Calvin decides to call the kid to make sure the truck is working out OK--a good faith call. Surprise, surprise. The kids girlfriend answers. Apparently the kid is now missing. The truck was found parked alongside a backwoods highway and has not been seen or heard from since. It's been over 2 months now...still no word.

I could keep going, but I won't. I think you get the idea. There are many, MANY more instances of bizarre and exciting/terrifying things happening to Calvin/with Calvin around that I won't go in depth on. Those were just the serious ones.

Does anyone here think that a person can involuntarily put themselves into elevated situations time and again? Does his subconscious mirror his conscious poor-choice ability?

To me, the culmination of events leading up to each of his 'occurrences' is too much to be written off as coincidence. This troubles me because I'm always searching for the simplest answer to things, and am not inclined to believe in paranormal causes.

Does anyone else have anything to add? Know somebody like this?

Interesting.. Have known a couple individuals over the years who had a similar knack to what you describe.. Some people just have strange karma is my take on it.

reply to post by Tharsis



Ha,haaaa, that was one of the best reads I've ever had on ATS!

I do suppose some people are like that. It reminds me of, "If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."

Have you ever asked Calvin, himself, what his take is on all of this? How about the rest of his family? Is he the 7th son of a 7th son?

Have you ever asked Calvin, himself, what his take is on all of this? How about the rest of his family? Is he the 7th son of a 7th son?

I've asked him before what he thought of it and he just gave some off-the-top-of-his-head response. He has no idea.

I'll ask him a little more in depth when he comes by later tonight.

I think a part of it has to do with his sleeping pattern. Even though he works on a farm during the summer doing hard manual labor for 12-16 hours, he often skips sleep. He doesn't use drugs other than alcohol, he just has a higher resistance to sleep deprived symptoms. He doesn't stay up for days on end, but if there is a party or a friends concert he stays up the whole night. Maybe some of these instances occur when he should be asleep?

He is the second son of a seconds son...If I recall correctly.

[edit on 6/20/10 by Tharsis]

Originally posted by Tharsis


I'll ask him a little more in depth when he comes by later tonight.

Great, I hope he gives a little more detail, as to his feelings about his being a catalyst.

Perhaps it's best to have Calvin drop by, as it sounds a little safer. Make sure none of the pilot lights are out on your stove, and put all sharp instruments safely away, and for heavens sake, don't light a b-b-q grill while he's around!

It's interesting you mentioning his sleep deprivation capabilitis. Maybe his brain waves are different?

Sounds like a helluva good guy, just looking to do his best to ... do his best, in life.

Odd that you/someone would post this today, as I've been having numerous conversations about the same or similar all around. Pay It Forward - like. (?)

Right place, Right time to aide/abet another in need of assistance.

Wrong place, Wrong time yet things worked out for the better in the end.

Keeps bringing me back to that Billy Currington song,

God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy


Thanks for the post, smile and chuckle. !



[edit on 20-6-2010 by 12m8keall2c]

reply to post by Blanca Rose

Perhaps it's best to have Calvin drop by, as it sounds a little safer. Make sure none of the pilot lights are out on your stove, and put all sharp instruments safely away, and for heavens sake, don't light a b-b-q grill while he's around!

hahahaha ... I couldn't but laugh heartily reading that comment.

My father was one and the same. He'd re-injure himself telling/demonstrating how he'd done it in the first place. .. be it cracking his funny bone, or what have you.

reply to post by 12m8keall2c


That song does seem to fit.

Funny, I was watching the "Superhero," movie the other night.

Perhaps Calving needs to make himself a costume, for the times he could be rescuing people for all the cataclysmic events he ends up around.

After two weeks of hauling irrigation, Calvin was finally able to stop by.

I asked him what he thought it was that caused him to be on the receiving end of so many crazy incidents.

He claimed a few would be chalked up to his observational skills. He's simpler folk and doesn't really understand synchronicity or that type of thing. He also mentioned that these don't all end that well. He brought up being mugged in Seattle and the cop that showed up on scene help beat Calvin up (split his head open wide) and let the mugger get away. This was the last time he went to Seattle, getting mugged, beaten up by a policeman, and he and his girlfriend spending the night in jail was enough for him to never go back.

Fun stuff here...there has been new revelations in his ongoing saga.

While bailing hay out in our home city, he noticed a structure in a wooded area flanking two properties he was working on. His radioed his boss and got the OK to check it out. (His boss isn't the most professional type). He hopped off his bailer and hopped the fence bordering the property. About 60 feet in was what looked like a sturdy built shed with a door. When he approached, he realized it was a tiny home-built room. It had siding, a roof, molding on the door jambs, windows that don't open or shut.

Apparently his boss knows the land well, and the land the room was in wasn't owned by anyone in the area. I think it might be state land.

With the blessing of his boss, he entered. The door was latched but was not locked. The inside was pretty odd, according to him. Empty liquor bottles, tons of pornography scattered on the floor in magazine form, a couple of beds and shackles on the walls.

Sounds like one of those fetish dungeons I've heard about. He and his boss call it the "Jack Shack" (nasty, I know.)

Calvin has a bad feeling about it. He said it didn't appear to be something that was meant to be found. No trail leading to it. Built entirely on state land with extensive resources. Whoever made it went out of there way to make it like a home. Fireplace, carpet, finished walls. A lot of effort for a non-appurtenance. Trees had to be cleared. Materials had to be hauled. Very strange.

We are scheduled to head out one night with night vision, camera, black lights, and the like to make sure nothing bad is going on. I wouldn't normally do this but there seems to be concern among Calvin, his boss, and their associates as to the possible negative goings-on that might be happening.

Sounds like a bad idea to me, but bad ideas can be thrilling. Hopefully, it'll be nothing, but it sounds bad. Seriously, why would you build a sex shack on property that wasn't yours, in a place that you must climb a fence to get to, and walk through a heavily wooded area unless you were trying to hide something more sinister than a simple fetish?

I'm thoroughly creeped out just thinking about traipsing into that land in the dark. But adventure calls!