Lucky Poo

I knew it was going to be a lucky day today – as I was driving towards my early morning appointment with the sunrise three huge dollops of bird droppings landed plop, plop, plop on the windscreen of my car!

‘Wow!’ I thought to myself, ‘When a bird craps on you, it is supposed to mean good luck!’

And I did feel lucky. Lucky that I was driving and not walking. Lucky that I wasn’t driving a convertible with the top down. Lucky that pigs can’t fly (yet).

It’s an odd thing really, that one should consider being covered in shit by a flying animal, a lucky thing. According to my research, the origin of this belief is somewhat sketchy, but is apparently based on the belief that the odds of a bird shitting on you are so unlikely, it’s like being in the right place at the right time – the foundation of good luck.

Apparently the more birds that poop on you at one time, the even more auspicious the occasion.

I don’t know whether this particular bird had enjoyed a tasty vindaloo the night before, but that little feathered friend was generous in dishing out the good fortune.

And it was quite the fortunate morning, I unexpectedly caught up with a dear friend on my early walk and enjoyed a lovely coffee and chat overlooking the ocean. The coffee was good, we happened to sit under a very effective ceiling fan (it was 30 degrees at 5:00am!) and she paid for my breakfast.

Of course my significant other noticed the gaudy decoration as soon as I returned home (hard to not notice three huge splats of dragon green upon my shiny white car exterior) and kindly left the wash bucket filled with soapy water out for me.

I’m not particularly superstitious, however I did question whether, as I washed off the poo, I would also wash off the luck. It was as I pondered this, that I noticed yet another blob of poop on the rear windscreen, this time, the traditional white kind – wow, how lucky is that an accessory poo that matches the decor!

I recall with great clarity a trip up north with a friend of mine several years ago where she was ‘lucky; enough to be shat on by two birds in two different locations on the same day! The first in the utopic paradise of Port Douglas as we strolled happily along the main street, blissfully unaware that this feathered fiend was about to unload a cache of dung missiles upon her beautiful golden locks. Fortunately, we were near some conveniently located ablutionary facilities and managed to wash the offending mess from her hair (the birds sure do enjoy a lot of heavily seeded tropical fruit up that way). The second time, later that afternoon upon our return to Cairns, the creamy dollop slipped skilfully down the inside back of her shirt without so much as a slither of mess upon her head or clothes!

I don’t recall her feeling particularly lucky, in fact later that evening following a tropical downpour she stepped in a puddle so deep it could have almost been an urban billabong – not to mention she happened to be wearing suede shoes and jeans, not so lucky? Could have been worse I guess, could have been home to a rogue crocodile returning from a heavy night on the town.

Whether its foundations are steeped in truth or not, I chose to embrace the potential good fortune of this morning’s event, and count my blessings, I am one of those people who in general does experience a great deal of good fortune in my life. Oh and I also popped into the newsagent to put a couple of dollars on a lotto ticket, just in case – after all luck is really when preparation meets opportunity!