Haunted

Growing up in Ireland I often heard “haunted” as a term for someone having a bit of good luck, referring to a near-miss accident survival, or very unlikely win on something;

“Jyezz, yer man is haunted!”

Thinking on it it’s such a great way of describing luck. It opens up the possiblity that there might be something out there looking out for you and a warning not to get to full of yourself because death is never very far from any of us. It’s a sort of life affirming turn of phrase while managing to also put a damper on things. Be grateful, it only happened because something mysterious stepped in to help.

“Feeling blessed” is another way of putting things, but that’s FAR too positive and ego-centric a phrase I think. To me when I hear someone say “I’m blessed”, I hear someone who is happy to have devine luck bestowed on them because they’ve been chosen, because they’re so great. My particular brand of cynicism means “I’m haunted”, makes me feel much better talking about a bit of luck, in that it only happened because something dead decided to do a weird thing for me.

I digress. This year I’m feeling haunted. It feels like cogs are beginning to spin somewhere in the “Let’s give Vick a chance” machine and I’m sort of just on the conveyor belt grabbing bags of sweets and bananas and the odd spoon that presents itself as I trundle past, still wondering what I’m meant to do with it all and what might be at the end! A test where I have to make an assemblage of gratitude to the Gods of capitalism?.. Who knows.

Nice things keep happening. I keep meeting lovely people, through meeting lovely people doors keep creaking open and someone pops a head through and goes something like; “OI! YOU! Do you want to do this thing!?” and I go (in my head; “AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH”)

out loud I say; “Yes, that sounds cool, why not!?” and a nice thing happens.

Haunted is nice. We will all be dead soon. I hope to haunt a loser too when it’s my turn one.