It’s not too often that I feel like I’ve got luck on my side. Sure, I am lucky to be a mom to five beautiful kids. I am lucky to have wonderful friends, both on and off line. But when I think of LUCK, I think of Acapulcan bus drivers.
That’s right. Acapulcan bus drivers.
I was 18, had recently finished my freshman year of college, and having the time of my life on a study abroad in Mexico. A few of my fellow college friends and I hopped on a bus for a long weekend in Acapulco.
I spent the first day lounging around on beach chairs, watching a volleyball tournament in a borrowed swim suit (what 18 year old forgets her swimming suit on a trip to Acapulco? Yeah, that would be me–the one in green). Sipping cool drinks (Sprite and Coke) and munching on chips. I was feeling pretty lucky.
Acapulco was a dream. Beautiful weather, beautiful water, and 14 of my closest friends jammed into two Mexican hotel rooms. Oh, and the Hard Rock Cafe.
What was it about the Hard Rock Cafe in the 1990s? I couldn’t wait to get inside to buy a couple of t-shirts. I even splurged and bought a sweatshirt.
And then things got exciting.
You see, on our last day I was on TV. National Mexican television. Two of my friends and I had decided to lay low at the beach when a film crew came up and asked if they could interview us. What 18 year old could refuse? What did it matter that they wanted to interview us as beauty pageant contestants? We met them at the studio and waited….this was real TV! Our time came. In front of the cameras. Major stage fright. Smile and pretend you don’t know any Spanish. They tried to convince us to come back the following week to compete in their big beauty pageant. Eh. Not my thing.
And then….Shoot! We were running late. We had just enough time to catch a bus to the depot, where we would catch the last ride home to Puebla, our home for the Summer. All we could do was hope that the other students traveling with us had picked up our bags from the hotel before they checked out.
We made it in time. Thank goodness. The rest of our group was glad to see us, but we were even more relieved than they were. They had our bags. I searched through the piles and found one bag but not the other. The backpack with the new Hard Rock Cafe shirts was missing.
One of the guys in our group swore that he had carried it onto the bus. It made it onto the bus, but it didn’t make it off.
Our bus home was ready to load. I had completely written off my too-expensive shirts and turned my back when I heard a commotion coming from the city bus stop.
And that’s where my Acapulcan bus driver came into the picture. Somehow an honest someone on that bus had found my abandoned backpack. That someone alerted the bus driver who turned his FULL bus around and headed back to the bus depot, just to deliver that lost backpack to the crazy American who had left luggage on his bus.
The bus cheered as I ran to retrieve my bag. No one was upset that they had been thrown off their schedule. Instead, they celebrated my Mexican luck with me.
I wanted to hug that bus driver.
And that’s why I think of Acapulcan bus drivers when I hear the word Luck.
Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Bookieboo and “Earthies Wants You to Feel Lucky” blogging program, making me eligible to win a pair of Earthies shoes and American Express Gift Cards. For more information on how you can participate, visit this post on Bookieboo.
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How fun! I needed a great happy ending today :-)
Wow, what a wonderful story!!! <3
Oh, thats awesome! I love it when you find an honest gem like this who will go out of their way for others!
Oh, believe me, looking back on the experience, I am shocked that I did some of the things I did. Everything was done in complete innocence. And amazingly, I was lucky and stayed safe!
You were lucky in a lot of ways Lolli. My old NYC instinct starting going crazy when you mentioned the TV interview. I thought someone was trying to kidnap you! That’s what happens to a jaded New Yorker :) Loved the story.
What a great story about luck!
What a great memory to share:-)
Wow, that is a great story!
That is a great “luck” story! I can totally picture everyone cheering for you :)