The Owners' Manual | Issue 15 | Spring 2019

The luckiest thing that happened to me was a random chance second meeting with my now husband. We met as teenagers on two consecutive Methodist summer camp bicycle trips. The first trip in 1973 was 7 days and consisted of 250 miles around (and ups and downs) the Allegheny National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The second trip in 1974 was 10 days and consisted of a 500-mile trip around the Finger Lakes Region. It began in Ithaca, New York and ended in Ludlow, Pennsylvania. (See photo) Since we lived about 1 ½ hour apart, at the conclusion of the second trip, we corresponded by letters (yes, it was the ONLY thing) and occasionally telephone calls (long distance cost $$$$). I went on a third 500-mile trip through Southern New York in 1975, but he was not able to go to it. As time went on, we stopped corresponding. In the summer of 1980, I was at my grandmother’s cottage along Lake Erie in Westfield, New York along State Route 5. I had gone out for a 5-mile run. He had been at a grape grower’s conference near Buffalo, New York and decided to drive the back road (State Route 5) rather than Interstate 90. He recognized me running along the road opposing traffic, waved out the car sunroof and turned his car around. I had not seen my friend for 6 years. I was a little frightened until he got out of the car and I realized it was him. We dated and married 5 years later. This day was one of the luckiest days in my life. – Cindy Paschke , Canton

I’m not sure if this is necessarily lucky but when I travel, I always listen to music inspired by or by artists from the places I’m going because I feel like it’s good juju for the trip. Maybe it’s more superstitious than anything but a little quirk of mine.

That or blowing on dice before I roll them.

– Brandon Rojas, Hartford

Meeting each other during WPI freshman orientation was the luckiest thing that has ever happened to us, 7 years together! – Katie & Alex Klose , Meriden

issue 15 // 7