Unlucky So Often

Any honk on a Monday in the late afternoon is annoyingly loud coming from a city bus driver making an illegal right-hand turn, but these blaring honks violently snap Derek out of his bleak thoughts. He was nearly about to place his foot on the street to cross the crosswalk when the opposite traffic light turned red. He resumes walking forward once seeing the clear cross sign flash, but his head quickly swivels around, observing all the stopped cars at the intersection.

It took a second to sink in. He was nearly fatally crushed by another impatient city bus driver. Despite how the city bus driver incorrectly utilized a yellow light as an indication to turn, Derek is amazed that the same driver did not hesitate to blame Derek by laying on the horn. City drivers are customarily more ruthless when claiming the right of way from pedestrians, which is a joke Fey often says.

When Derek crosses any busy intersection, he is hyperaware of his entire surroundings. Being in the street for any amount of time is potentially highly dangerous for Derek. Especially, because he contains a low percentage of lucky gene markers in his DNA. This lack of luck forces him to consider freak accidents are inevitable. Run over and flattened by a large city bus driver running a red light, is a common possibility he watches out for.

This particular Monday is the most stressful, and obviously, Derek's mind is a million miles away from his present reality. He parked his blue truck in the parking lot across the street from the office of Dr. Shields, arriving right on time for the appointment. Mindlessly crossing the street is highly risky, for his death would promptly follow.

"Being present and aware all the time is necessary for the men in our family," are the words coined by Derek's father. His father lived by those words until the day he died as an unlucky pedestrian being run over by an equally unlucky motorcyclist.

Derek's father died two years ago after being struck by a runaway motorcycle. The rider also died upon impact, and it was deemed unfortunate mutual destruction for both parties involved. In simpler terms, Derek's dad was an unlucky victim of a deadly accident with an even unluckier man. The motorcyclist turned too hard and was propelled into moving traffic. The motorcycle spun out of control and mauled Derek's dad over when he was hailing a cab on a traffic-packed side street.

His dad's cause of death was deemed an unfortunate circumstance, but for Derek, it was a common freak accident. Derek's father anticipated his death and acted as if death itself was looming on the horizon. Most of Derek's childhood is full of family memories where his dad participated in all the birthdays and holidays but would stand with a little distance between him and everyone else. Derek's dad explained how physically standing apart from his loved ones was for their safety.

Derek's father was genetically unlucky. He lacked several clear markers of the 'lucky genes' in his DNA, and how luck is fundamentally essential in a world so unfair, based on how the doctors explain it. Derek's dad was born with a low percentage of lucky genes, and he possessed roughly 60 percent when measured by the physicians. It is more than average, but not by much. Derek's dad was unlucky all his life, but his dad learned how to adapt. During the moments when his luck inevitably became sparse, his dad was quick on his feet and proved to be a true survivalist.

Derek gained valuable life lessons from his dad; avoid stepping on the cracks in the concrete, never break or splinter a mirror, and never leave the safety of your house on Friday the 13th. Derek's dad acknowledged it might not be possible to grow or lose their luck, but why tempt fate, especially on those Fridays. His dad taught Derek how to assess potential danger wherever he went, or in whatever he was doing, at an incredibly young age.

"Think ahead, Derek. Never enter any situation without knowing what danger can occur." Derek's dad instructed a 10-year-old Derek after he broke his arm. Derek was biking with a friend in the neighborhood when his flat tire caught a rock and caused Derek to fly over the handlebars. Apparently, there was a screw filed into the rubber of the flattened tire, and the screw hit the rock, and ultimately, was the reason why Derek broke his arm. If Derek had inspected his bike beforehand, he would have noticed the screw, and would have avoided biking with a flat tire, and then not have to wear a ceramic cast for weeks after.