Lucky

My mom's birthday is this coming Sunday.

She would have been 86.

One thing we loved to do together

is go to a casino.

Once a year we'd drive

to Foxwoods in CT.,

stay overnight,

and play slots

to our hearts' content.

We even managed to go

when she was fighting cancer

and it cheered her up so much.

Here is a poem I wrote about one such trip:

Lucky

When we went to Foxwoods

a few years ago,

my mom had such a successful

time playing the Lucky

Seven machine

I remember the grin

on her face when I

found her in the non-

smoking casino

standing like the Statue

of Liberty with her hand

up flagging me down.

And there were

the three red sevens

lined up like soldiers.

After she was paid her 1,199

coins,

we meandered around

other casino rooms

and eventually settled

at a different bank

of machines: she in

front of a Lucky Seven

and me a 5X Diamond

a few seats away from her.

I can still remember

her calling out to me

every time she won:

the three green sevens,

the three purple sevens,

and twice more

the three red sevens.

Everyone around her

was cheering her on.

The only ones she

didn’t get were the pink

sevens that paid 500 coins.

Just before leaving

we walked through

one more time

and she put a $20 bill

into yet another

Lucky Seven machine

and, of course, this

time she got the pinks.

I should have known

then that this winning

day was going to be

our last good time

together at a casino.

But there was no message

in the clanging bells

announcing her success

that less than a year

later she’d be in the hospital

too weak to even

put her own cannula

into her trach

never mind a quarter

into a Lucky Seven

slot machine.

The other night my sister

texted me:

"Maybe we will be able to

go to Immokalee? For

lunch and a little slots in

honor of mom! I know she

would approve."

"Excellent idea! Let's do it!

I texted her back."

So, with mom in our hearts

we went yesterday.

My morning started with this.

It felt like my mom's spirit

filling me!

We entered the casino

with high hopes even though neither of us

is particularly lucky like our mom was.

And we did great for awhile

but, eventually gave it all back.

But, that's okay.

We both felt lucky,

lucky to have the chance to spend the day together

lucky to have a hundred extra dollars to waste,

lucky to have had our mom.