Monthly Archives: February 2019
Pennsylvania Bridges – March 2019 – “The Lucky Ones”
The March 2019 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – “The Lucky Ones” – is now available online and in print.
Thoughts from our Editor: March 2019 – The Lucky Ones
Like many people, I am fascinated by history and am particularly intrigued by the history of my own family, and the stories of the ancestors who came before me, who lived and loved in times go by. On my father’s side of the family, we can trace our roots back to an ancient Scottish clan, Clan Currie, with our own unique tartan and family crest. On my mother’s side, the branches of our family tree include some names of note, and I can count among my departed relatives both American folk hero Davy Crockett, “King of the Wild Frontier,” and John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee.
Then there are the stories my late grandmother Eleanor used to tell me about how her “people” hailed from Ireland and immigrated to the United States after the Great Potato Famine.
“They were so hungry and so poor back in Ireland, Carla,” she would say, “They would pass around the one potato they had and sniff it before they split it up.”
Now, I don’t know how much of that was folklore versus truth, and I know my grandmother had a flair for the dramatic and a tendency to exaggerate details. However, I do know her ancestors were of Irish descent and arrived in the United States in the mid 19th century.
There are a lot of stereotypes about Irish people, much like there are common misconceptions about all ethnicities. Our food is bland, our hair is red, and we’re all affable, violent alcoholics. Then there’s the perception that all Irish people are lucky.
Now, admittedly, I was born with fiery red hair and an equally fiery spirit, but I am mostly non-confrontational and I abhor violence. Having said that, I’ve had extraordinary luck throughout most of my 42 years on this planet. Not only do I have a penchant for winning contests – half the take, basket auctions, etc. – I’ve had my fair share of sheer, dumb luck, of being fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time when an opportunity has presented itself. So, whether it’s related to my Irish ancestry or not, there’s no denying I’m one of the lucky ones.
That being said, I mostly believe people make their own luck. They set goals, they work hard, and they stay focused on their objectives until they achieve them. Success is not contingent on some magical, elusive quality found at the end of a rainbow, rather it is the end result of a combination of inspiration and perspiration, of dreaming of the impossible and then setting about to make it possible.
This edition is dedicated to those individuals who have – rather than waiting for fortune to smile upon them – found ways to take charge of and mold their own destinies.
Until next month,
Carla E. Anderton
