The other day, I was walking up the kill-hill when I spotted a small reflective leg band, just like the ones I normally use to keep the right leg of my pants out of the bike chain. It was lying in the gutter and I picked it up and confirmed it was actually mine as it had worn in exactly the same way, plus I very much doubt if anyone else in town has used the same Chinese eBay seller.
The strange thing is that I lost it over three months ago and bought some more. If it has been there that long I must have walked by it 25+ times. All very odd. Anyway, after a trip through the washing machine, it is good to go again.
I'm beginning to think that I am a serial loser and finder of my own possessions as there have been three similar incidents in the last year.
During lockdown two, I'd popped into Wilko for a bit of essential shopping, I had been using fairly expensive cordless earphones that have a wire across the shoulders to connect the two earpieces together. Shortly after I left the shop I noticed that they were missing so I wondered if I'd dropped them in the shop. I went back to ask the cashier but no luck. Resigned to having to replace them, I set off home only to spot them lying in the middle of the pavement and someone actually walking around them. Result!
About three years ago I lost an almost new cheap mobile phone, it became a bit of a standing joke with some of my friends as I knew it was in the house somewhere but could never find it. Guess what, a couple of years later I went to do a 'deep clean' of my front room and stood the sofa up on end to make more space only to find the phone in a small carrier bag stuck to the bottom of the sofa somehow. A quick charge and amazingly it still works, in fact, I'm using it as my main phone at the moment whilst waiting for a new one to be delivered.
The best one was an incident in October last year with my house keys, I'd gone on an eight-mile off-road bike ride over the cliff tops. Normally I hang my key ring over the handlebars (ironically, so that it does not fall out of my pocket) and must have knocked them off when I stopped to take a photo. No real chance of finding them as it could have been almost anywhere on the trip which was mostly in long grass. On a return trip the next day I stopped to have a rest and felt something sharp under my trainer. Yes, my keys were glinting up at me, the chances of this must be minuscule.
So with all these finds, am I lucky to find them again or unlucky to lose them in the first instance. It could be argued either way I suppose.
Useless fact: In 'American English', if you wish to describe a person as consistently unlucky, you can call them a schlemiel, this word is actually borrowed from Yiddish.
I'm going to view myself as being on the unlucky side. The way I see,… If I fell into a barrel of tits, I'd probably come out sucking my thumb.
Comments