BY: Lizzy Karp

A wise man once said, “Everything in life is luck.” Thanks Donald Trump. As Karen Pinchin, Elianna Lev and I have been planning for the next Rain City Chronicles [sponsored by V.I.A.! This Monday at the Western Front!], we’ve been thinking about our own lucky charms. To get in the mood for an evening of live storytelling all about luck, here are our own versions of rabbit’s feet, wishbones and horseshoes…

Karen

Apples – I grew up working harvest weekends on my grampy’s fruit farm in Mississauga, Ontario. When things got quiet, I would walk through knee-length grass into the middle, most serene part of the orchard, find a Mutsu or Jonagold apple nearly as big as my head, and munch on it as I laid on my back, staring at the clouds. Ever since then, apples have been my lucky reminder of the importance of hard work and the delicious sweetness of small pleasures.

Paul Simon – On a long, sweaty, emotionally strenuous trip to Kenya with a very dear friend, his Graceland was our lucky album. We would be in an airport gift shop listening to a crackly radio, and it would come on. We would be walking down the streets of a beachside town, and we would hear strains, carried on the wind, from a fabric store. Paul was our lucky charm.

Luck - This may seem redundant. But, without fail throughout my life, at the moment I’ve given up all hope, something outrageously good and unlikely happens and I get catapulted into that giddy aren’t-I-so-special-and-so-very-lucky frame of mind. Then things get better. WAY better. My first real job? Check. My handsome and saintly partner in crime? Check. I could go on…

Brine – It’s really, really hard to screw up roasting a chicken or turkey if you brine it first. When it comes to roasted poultry, I make my own luck.

Lizzy

Sangria- My romantic adventure with my current beau began with this delicious and dangerous summertime potion. In fact, many of my adventures, filled with good luck or bad, have begun with this drink and I know I’m not alone.

My Aunt Susie – Everyone has an aunt they adore. But my Aunt Susie has had the effect of three pitches of sangria on my life. She also has the ability to unlock my luck when winning prizes, entering my name in raffles and lotteries and winning almost every time. I’m lucky to have her.

Books – I adore a good book, so much that the minute I’m finished lusting over the last few pages, I’ve handed it off to a friend singing its praises. Because of this habit I’ve lost many a favorite title. But, one lucky book still always finds its way back to me: Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer. Its all about murder and Mormons in Utah. Which reminds me, I’m lucky to have grown up in Utah, because I would have never known how incredible it is if I was born anywhere else in the world.

Full Moons – Yeah, yeah. Don’t pretend like you don’t like that hippie shit. We live in Vancouver, where it’s okay to talk about the phases of the moon. Maybe its because I’m a Cancer, but that ol’ full moon tends to bring with it good luck, which is why Rain City Chronicles falls on this Monday – a full moon!

Elly

Birds – I have a special connection with birds. I used to own finches, who were my only friends for a while when I was little. I’d talk to them. Then they froze to death but I’ve continually been visited by birds throughout the years to remind me that life is beautiful. The time that stands out most was when I was in New York and had given up on love, only to come across two city doves nuzzling in the shape of a heart a moment later. (See picture.)

My heart necklace – My last name means “heart” in Hebrew and hearts play an ongoing theme in my life (check out my site for the explanation: www.eliannalev.com/art) I have this one gold heart necklace that I wear a lot. It makes me feel positive and in turn, lucky.

Lucky $5 – For my 29th birthday, my friend Natalie Porter bought me a lotto ticket and I won $5. I kept that $5 in my wallet for a year and a half and intended to spend it on something special that I had hoped would change my life in the best possible way. I ended up spending it on mee gorang from Hawkers after I realized I didn’t have any cash on me. I guess it was lucky I had that $5 but nothing life changing happened as a result.

My best friend Chris Jacot – He’s the type of guy who will smack you in the face when you want to wallow and tell you to get your shit together and help you find a way to grow and be happy. I’m very lucky to have him in my life.

See you on Monday around 7:00 the Western Front (303 East 8th Avenue). $8 at the door.