Caramellos, Las Vegas and Destiny.

By Larry

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Amazing how destiny shows up where you least expect it, isn’t it?

My friend Elaine and I were eating lunch together and talking about how she came into education. It all started with Caramello candy bars.

Elaine was a young newlywed at that time with a flair for writing. She and her new husband were walking past a display in the local shopping mall and noticed a contest to write the jingle for the new Caramello advertising campaign.

On a whim, and with a little encouragement from her husband, she grabbed a pen and scrolled down the first words that came into her head. I don’t know what they were.

I don’t even know if they still make Caramellos. Haven’t seen them around the stores in a while.

But a few weeks later, she got a call from the candy company. She had won the contest! First prize! She took the prize money and used it to finish paying for her college degree, which she had put on hold.

Jump forward a few years. What happened? She became a successful English teacher, went on for a masters degree in school counseling, and five years ago was named Middle School Counselor of the Year in the State of Connecticut.

All because of a candy bar jingle.

Destiny.

It got me thinking about Las Vegas, that city my wife so adores. If not for another seeming coincidence, she might never have gone.

In 1990, while a graduate student, I went out to an education conference in Michigan (with my friend Elaine, I might add). We took our first flight from Hartford to Memphis, then got bumped from Memphis to Detroit.

Back then, if you took a voluntary bump, you received a free round trip ticket to anywhere in the USA. So I happily took my bump and free ticket and caught the next flight to the conference.

Now this was about four months before my own wedding. We were still trying to figure out the honeymoon arrangements, since the plans we had in place hadn’t worked out. We decided on Las Vegas, since money was tight, we had a free round trip ticket, and we knew the hotels were reasonable.

What happened? We went, won a bit of money, went back for our five year anniversary, won a lot more money, went back again two years later, won a WHOLE LOT more money, and now go back and enjoy ourselves on a regular basis.

We love the shows, the restaurants, the glamour, etc.

All because of a bumped flight to Detroit in 1990.

What’s the message here? Sometimes the most exquisite, wonderful events in our lives happen because of seemingly unimportant events leading up to them.

Who knows? Maybe Elaine would have become a wonderful educator anyway. She has improved the lives of thousands of students throughout the years.

Maybe we would have found Las Vegas no matter what. We have put smiles on the faces of many waitresses and bellhops with our generous tipping.

Or maybe not.

If you believe everything happens for a reason, then be grateful for everything that happens.
Even if it’s something you don’t like at the moment, there’s both a lesson and an opportunity hidden somewhere.

It’s your job to find it and your job to grow with it.