The Golden Ticket

Looking back it is so hard to believe that this happened before I had even entered high school, but I have to accept the fact that this event happened close to four years ago. I was in 8th grade and it was just about the end of the year. The weather was getting warmer, lacrosse was finishing up, I had a date to our semi-formal dance, and we were all looking forward to getting to go to Canobie Lake Park. This is a story of how the stars aligned and I quickly came into a great fortune.

I had been invited to a spaghetti dinner that was held at the Litchfield Fire Department. I wasn’t sure who it was for and at that moment I wasn’t very concerned about it. I was just going because it was something to do. I went with one of my friends and after I had been dropped off I was on my own at this event. I knew that it was a benefit for a family who had an unfortunate tragedy in their life so I did my best to be polite. I was at the front door and I met my friend. We chatted about the summer and what our plans were for the fall. Unfortunately, I found out that my friend was going to a different school in the fall. Learning this hurt a lot because this was one of my best friends from Pre-School, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin this night. We went through the front doors and met with an older guy who was on his way out the door. He made his way toward me and handed me the “Chekov’s Gun” per se. After we decided to get food and sat down.

The spaghetti dinner was enjoyable and I got to meet a lot of people from the Litchfield community which I never would. This actually helped me for the future because when I was applying to the Boy’s State Program through the American Legion I had already met a lot of people from the American Legion at this dinner. I shook a lot of hands and had some really good laughs. I saw a lot of people who influenced my childhood and got some pretty sweet face paint done. There was some music being played and the Fire Station had all the firetrucks washed and shiny to look at. I had seen the family the benefit was for talking to people all night, but I didn’t end up saying anything because I didn’t even know what to say. As the dinner ended people began to start moving toward the door and my friend and I were right about to do the same. Then the room went silent and there was an announcement.

The person who had organized and was running the dinner began to speak on the microphone. They announced that they were going to draw the raffle which had totaled close to $200. I ignored the announcement and continue to make my way out the door until my friend reminded me about the old man that had handed me the raffle tickets. I remembered and checked my pocket and pulled them out. They began to call the number as soon as I had checked the strand of numbers I had. I don’t remember the exact number I know that coincidentally the number they pick ended in the numbers 911. I ended up winning the raffle with the tickets the man gave me and to this day it still baffles me. I walked up in front of still quite a bit of people and accepted the money. I was more taken aback because I was not even close to expecting to win. I had forgotten about the tickets at that point and was steps from being out the door. They handed the money to me and I made my way back to my friend. I looked at it and then looked back towards the family as they were given the other half and I said I want to donate back to the family and that I was going to talk to the family. They kindly accepted my donation and I actually got a few hugs. It was such a great feeling. I ended up having a short conversation with the family before letting them know my ride was there and I had to leave. I made my way out and said goodbye to my friend and shared the story with my mom and family as soon as I got back home.

I still remember the feeling today even though it was so long ago. When they called that number while I was looking at my ticket I was awestruck. I felt like Charlie Bucket with the golden ticket. Just like Charlie, I didn’t even know that I had a chance of winning until I saw the tickets. It was hard to contain my excitement walking in front of all of those people, just as it was for Charlie when he won. It was the first time I had ever won anything like that and I wasn’t even expecting to. I still look back to the number of coincidences that must have happened for that man to give me those tickets. It is crazy to think that this event which has made a great impact on my life almost went a completely different way based on such a small chance. It has become one of those memories that become ingrained in your head and you can remember it completely. The experience of winning something and then immediately giving back to those who need it was so great and has given me an experience to learn from and figure out who I really am.

Photo by Randy Heinitz on Foter.com / CC BY