P325
My father-in-law, Mr. Lucky, was thankful for the simple things in life. His wife, Flora, allowed him to purchase one scratch-off ticket per week. Somehow, that ticket always ended up being the winning one.
“Send some of that magic dust our way, Lucky,” his coworkers laughed as they carried off their worthless tickets.
“We're all lucky to be living,” he'd reply.
As Mr. Lucky grew older, he suffered from hearing loss. It would have been a great problem to others. Not Mr.Lucky, however.
He was seated in the break room one afternoon when a weather announcement came.
“A tornado(龙卷风) warning has been issued for the area.Please be
aware of the conditions!”
Dad looked up. “A tomato warning! What's wrong with the tomatoes?” he shouted in surprise.
His coworkers simply shook
their heads. “You really need to see about some hearing aids, Lucky! Get yourself to a doctor!”
That afternoon as Dad drove home through the storm, he found it impossible to see. A mile up the road, he crashed into the back of a physician's car.
With his license revoked(吊销), there was no alternative but to move our parents to Virginia where we could drive them around town.
I found Dad a part-time job at a mall within walking distance. Before the mall opened each day, Dad would hear for Dillard's department store. There, he'd clean the floors and empty all the trash cans.
“I'm the luckiest man on the Earth,” he'd comment on the rainy or cold days. “I have a wonderful wife, two terrific sons and their families, a job that I love, and a little spare change in my pocket. It doesn't get any better than that!”
I often wondered why the manager at Dillard's continued to keep Dad on. His eyesight was so bad that he couldn't possibly see well enough to clean probably.
One morning, I looked through the perfume counter waiting for Dad to get off work. I could hear him singing in the distance as he worked. Suddenly, one of the sales clerks chuckled(轻声地笑).
“Come on, Mr. Lucky, tell me another joke to brighten my morning.” I spotted the manager of the store quietly chuckling nearby.
Suddenly, I understood. Mr. Lucky spread magic dust all over Dillard's department store.