When things unexpectedly go very awesome! (Have your story ready)

I was having a really rough week—heck, a really rough year for that matter. But yesterday I had one of those days that totally shook me out of my doldrums. Not only did I have one of those “never thought it would happen to me” experiences, I also got to brighten up the day of two complete strangers. I will share my story, but it goes without saying that I’m more interested in hearing yours!

I bought tickets online to see one of my favorite musical artists, but was only able to print out the receipt. I had to pick up the tickets from the will call office, but didn’t have a vehicle all week because it was in the shop. I finally got my truck back the day before the show and decided to head to the casino-resort to pick up my tickets a few hours early (the day of the show.) I hate waiting in long lines when the show is about to start. I’m usually the first one to my seats at these events.

I found myself walking through the casino lobby looking for the will call booth. No one there. So, I went looking for the ticket office that was located on the other end of the lobby—I found myself walking back and forth a few times searching through this wal-mart sized casino floor. I couldn’t find anybody at the will call booth or the ticket office, so I started heading back to where I parked. On my way out I noticed somebody carrying a guitar pedal—we exchanged looks, and after walking past him I did a 180 turn and followed closely behind.

I followed him from a careful distance all the way to the showroom and snuck in the door after him. I walked in to the empty showroom where the crew was setting up and a few of the musicians were doing their sound checks. They all looked at me once and then forgot I was even there. A security guard came in after me and I just said, “Hey, how’s it going?” I thought he was going to tell me to leave, but he just smiled and said “Have a good day. Enjoy the show.”

I stayed about an hour watching them do their sound check and rehearsing a few bits of the songs. The bass player started jamming out some notes and I couldn’t recognize what he was playing. I later saw him perform the same bass solo again during the climax of the show.

Finally someone else came in the way I did. I chit-chatted with him a bit, you know, fan-to-fan. Then I finally asked, “They came here in 2009. Did you get to see them?” (I assumed he was a resident of my town.) But he just said lazily, “Oh, I’ve seen them plenty of times.” He seemed kind of bored and standoffish.

"Oh," I said, "I was working last time they came so I missed it. I'm pretty excited about tonight though. It's my first time seeing them."

So, I figured since he’s seen them plenty of times and is showing up here about 5 hours early that he must know if it’s worth something. I asked him, “So, does it ever pay off hanging out around here before the show?”

He just stared at me and then responded, “Naw, they’re just setting up—nothing special.”

“Aww, okay,” I said. But then he pulled out his cell phone, made a call, and started talking.

“Hey, it’s John. I’m at the showroom. Why don’t you come down and check it out.” He gave me a scornful look even though I was trying my best not to eavesdrop; even though he was standing right next to me. He walked further away to have some privacy.

After the phone call he came back and started chatting with me again. This time he seemed more outgoing and friendly. He asked me my name and started chatting fan-to-fan like I hoped for. After a few minutes, no one less than Mr. Alan Parsons (of the aptly named Alan Parsons Project) himself walked into the showroom and walked over to me.

Against every ounce of my self-control, I uttered aloud, “AW, NO WAY!”

Mr. Parsons walked over to me and shook my hand. We chatted just a little bit. I told him, “Welcome to ____, welcome back!” He signed my ticket receipt and told me to enjoy the show. I told him, “Man, you just made my whole year. Thanks. Play it loud!” Then he and the other guy who made the phone call left together talking and laughing.

I soon left the showroom and found somebody else waiting at the empty will call booth. I told him that if he hurried he might catch Mr. Parsons walking through the casino floor. I pointed the direction I saw him leave. He just grinned and said, “I’ve been waiting for this since 1976.”

Nearly out the door, I bumped into someone wearing a concert T-shirt and said, “Hey, look. See that tall guy in the black shirt walking towards the elevators? Go catch him before he leaves the floor.” The guy thanked me and took off.

I left the casino to go get some dinner before the show. I came back and got to my seats early. Both of the gentlemen from earlier in the day came up to me and said something along the lines of, “Thanks a lot, you really made my day. I got to say hello and got an autograph. I would’ve missed him without your tip.”

Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that I would get to meet music legend Alan Parsons. I just planned to pick up my tickets and leave the casino. Not only that, I am glad that I got to share the experience with 2 complete strangers, both who were just as excited as I was.

Pics or it didn’t happen, right? Where’s JibbyJedi when I need to make him jealous?

Oh, wow, NB! Awesome story, I am so jealous!

My own story of things going exactly right....

There's a beautiful hiking trail in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. It leads to a gorgeous waterfall, called Abrahm's Falls. Lengthy hike, you have to climb pretty high then you descend to the waterfall.

Anyway, one beautiful fall day my friends and I decided to hike the trail. However, there's no bathroom at the trailhead or on the trail itself. So we drove past the trailhead a mile or so to a restroom, left the car there, and set off cross country to get to the trailhead. It's a no-no to walk through the mountains off trail like this bc you can get lost, but this was an easy detour. So we weren't worried about getting lost, but there was always the possibility of encountering wildlife.

Which is exactly what happened. We exited the woods and came across a small meadow. In the meadow were several does and two bucks. The bucks, both with large racks, were fighting.

We settled down in the grass about a hundred yards away and just watched. It was incredible. The bucks would ram each other, tussle a bit, break apart, and then turn to the does as if to say, "Aren't you impressed?"

Apparently none of them were...the does eventually wondered off, leaving the two Romeos behind.

We were getting up to leave when a single doe emerged from the woods. Immediately the two bucks went back at it.

While they were fighting, out walks another big buck. He walks straight up to the doe, and the two proceeded to....well, you know. Then off the walked, back into the forest. The two original bucks just stood there, dumbfounded.

I still get the giggles when I think about it. What a magnificent day, and one of my best memories.

S&F!

Hmmm. I am the kind of guy that, if I would drop my toast with jelly on it, and it landed jelly side up.... it would land in a mud puddle. So if something went really well, it would be very unexpected.

After thinking for a bit, I remember the time, about twenty years ago, I had a dream. In the dream, I saw a hotel room doorway with the room numbers in shiny brass. It was a three digit number and I awakened immediately after seeing it. It wrote the number down and played it in the lottery that day. It hit, and I won $800.... the amount that we owed in federal taxes when we filed two months later.

So, that was unexpected and positive.

Originally posted by butcherguy
Hmmm. I am the kind of guy that, if I would drop my toast with jelly on it, and it landed jelly side up.... it would land in a mud puddle. So if something went really well, it would be very unexpected.

You and me both, brother! That's why it was such a special experience for me. I was also thrilled that I was able to pass it on. One of the guys had a tear in his eye when he was thanking me, saying he waited since 1976 to meet him. I am the original Bad Luck Brian. Knowing my luck, I'm surprised I didn't get banned from seeing the show entirely!

That is indeed an awesome story you have provided! I believe our dreams definitely drop some wisdom and helpful info on us when we need it. I played keno a lot with my grandfather before he died. We never won anything major. One time I dreamed of a few numbers and played that on a ticket. That provided the best hit we ever won!

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


My buddy had four tickets for the Iron Maiden/Queensryche/Halford show back in 2000. We tried to fill the two tickets but no one was interested. We ended up taking a couple of friends wives to the show, one who had never seen a concert before and the other had only seen one, a country show.

Afterwards, driving out, one of the girls saw the busses and told my friend to park the car. Not a public parking place but he did it anyway. A couple of minutes later Dave Murray and Adrian Smith(guitar players for Maiden) came out and rapped with us for a few minutes and signed our tickets. Totally, TOTALLY cool guys.

So, I got my cool story and how about those chicks? Could that be a better story for ones first rock show?

That was a pretty cool evening, to say the least.

The only pure luck you will ever get is where and to whom you are born. If your parents are decent people and your first day of life was spent in a country comparatively free of oppression, then you have already hit pay dirt. You are a minority winner in this world and everything else should be judged against that.

There is no Great Ju-Ju up the Mountain passing out good luck, or bad luck on a whim. "Good luck" is created, as you created it by walking through that door and taking the risk that you would be soon ejected. You played the odds in that casino and won in a big way without spending a cent on a slot machine. If you had been ejected by the ear it would have been no more "bad luck" than playing a slot machine and losing.

To improve our "luck" we must play the odds. We can stack those odds in our favour by educating ourselves, just has a professional poker player learns the game. This works for watching Deer sex too. You saw a marvelous thing because you put yourself in the position to see it by walking off the path.

Don't rely on luck! Walk off the path.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Indeed, Smylee, the wonders of nature up close and live can be an unexpectedly pleasant treasure. Sure beats a nature documentary, eh?

Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by Rob7774


Sure, that's one way of looking at it. What bearing does it have on this thread though? Are you saying we shouldn't appreciate good times when they happen to us?

Life can be as chaotic as a casino. Enjoy your winnings, don't weep over your losses for too long. The house is the only true winner.

Originally posted by Rob7774
You played the odds in that casino and won in a big way without spending a cent on a slot machine.

Actually, I walked out with about $100 extra after stopping at a slot machine when I gave up on looking for my tickets. I had enough to buy some souvenirs at the merchandising booth after the show

No, I'm sorry--you can't bring me down from this.

Look, I wasn't trying to get you down. I love hearing these has much has anybody else. I was just saying that luck is made, not given.

Originally posted by Rob7774
Look, I wasn't trying to get you down. I love hearing these has much has anybody else. I was just saying that luck is made, not given.

Okay, thanks for clarifying then

Boy, the "Eye in the sky, was looking at you" buddy
Something tells me, you deserved that little run of luck.

What a great story. I wish I could have made the show!
Maybe when Satch makes a run over the hills. That would be a fun one.
So Tell me, this Alan Perkins guy, did he every do anything big? or popular?

Originally posted by spacedoubt
So Tell me, this Alan Perkins guy, did he every do anything big? or popular?

HA! Well, he is to the recorded album what a director is to a movie. He's a sound engineer and producer first, and a musician second.

He is best known for working on legendary rock albums like The Beatles' "Abbey Road" and Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of The Moon." He also spear-headed his own band and enjoyed releasing several gold and multi-platinum albums.

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha

Originally posted by spacedoubt
So Tell me, this Alan Perkins guy, did he every do anything big? or popular?

HA! Well, he is to the recorded album what a director is to a movie. He's a sound engineer and producer first, and a musician second.

He is best known for working on legendary rock albums like The Beatles' "Abbey Road" and Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of The Moon." He also spear-headed his own band and enjoyed releasing several gold and multi-platinum albums.

OH!
just giving you a hard time buddy.
That's why I own all those records and CD's with his name on them somewhere. I noticed It's spelled PARSONS though.I'm such a fool. hehe.

Here's one of my favorite APP songs.

reply to post by spacedoubt


So did you have a story of unexpected awesomeness, spacedoubt? I remember seeing your post about how you saved yours and someone else's life.

Surely you have another gem for us

that's really awsome. For me there's really only 1 experience I sort of still want to have happen which is falling in love with a beautiful woman who also loves me. I've never had that. But what's sad about that is it turns you into a bit of a player actually. Because you eventually give up on love. All that's left is lust and trying to bang girls. So you end up with a lot of girlfriends that you're not deeply in love with but that you know will have sex with you. It would be a neet experience to feel love again. I don't even remember what that's like anymore really.

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


hmm, I hope I didn't use up all my stories then. It has to be something better than 2 prizes in the cracker-jack box, right?

Originally posted by spartacus699
For me there's really only 1 experience I sort of still want to have happen which is falling in love with a beautiful woman who also loves me.

We have this in common. I've just about given up hope for that, but I'm learning to find happiness in other things.

May love find you unexpectedly someday, spartacus699. May it be awesome!

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


Wow NB !! Just awesome !

One of my faves of all time. Not jealous at all you @#$%%$# ! lol.

Great to hear it lifted your spirits, you deserved a break mate, I hope it stays with you ...