While lottery tickets are extremely popular, I never got the gambling fever. While obviously people have won fortunes purchasing tickets (even some locally), I always thought the odds put lottery tickets in the arena of a bad investment. Of course, earlier this week for a very short period of time, I almost changed my mind.

I had a business appointment in Bedford County and the directions I was given took me into the fringes of a sparsely populated area. As luck (bad luck) would have it, I made a wrong turn and soon wound up in the middle of some heavy road construction where there was no way to turn around and moving forward was at a snail’s pace.

With the clock ticking, it became apparent that I was going to be late and, because I had no cell reception at my location, it appeared as if my original plan of being on time was going to fail. I suspected I had made a wrong turn at the last intersection and was off track. I knew the best thing to do was get some local directions at the first opportunity. A few minutes later, the traffic eased and I spotted a roadside convenience store. I quickly pulled in and hopped out. As luck would have it, a customer was just coming out the door and I thought my luck was changing.

Stopping him, I quickly poured out my situation only to have him respond, “Sorry, I am not from around here, so I am afraid I can’t help you.” Thanking him, I entered the store and quickly spotted a clerk stocking shelves. I again repeated my problem to his blank stares only to have him say, “I am not very good when giving directions, you really should ask someone behind the counter.”

Approaching the counter, I was greeted by two friendly faces, which gave me a spark of hope in an otherwise grim situation. I again repeated my story and dilemma, painfully aware of the time ticking by. One clerk immediately started to give me directions and just as quickly, the other one interrupted saying, “That’s not the best way, there is a quicker way!” I had finally found two people who might be able to help me and now they couldn’t agree.

After a few minutes’ discussion, the one clerk deferred to the older associate and soon the directions poured forth in a steady stream. However, the bad news was they both agreed that the first step was to exit the parking lot and turn right — back through the construction traffic I had just exited, which meant an additional delay. I was tempted to ask if there was another possible route, but life experience has taught me to recognize when “it is what it is, so relax, regroup and change your plan.”

I headed back the way they suggested and quickly found my original error a few miles down the road. Once back on the right track, I soon found my intended destination and was only slightly late. Life was back on schedule.

However, as I was heading home later that afternoon, I replayed the day’s events in my mind. I wondered what are the chances of making a mistake driving, getting lost and then running into four people to ask directions, one of which was not from the area, one who admitted he was not good at giving directions and two who knew the answer but couldn’t agree? I probably should have just canceled the appointment and bought a lottery ticket. With everything seemingly going wrong, something had to go right.

John Kasun writes from his home in Duncansville, where although he occasionally thinks about it, to date he has still not bought a lottery ticket.