Lucky me

My cousin and his wife were in town last weekend to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. After leaving them to their own devices for Saturday and Sunday, I drove them around Monday to sample some inexpensive points of interest, like Hoover Dam and the Fremont Street Experience.

I make a last-second decision to eat at Baja Fresh for a late lunch, and my cousin-in-law discovers that her vegetarian nachos have a strip of steak at the bottom. She shows it to the manager -- we all ordered vegetarian, so the complaint has to be legitimate -- and he offers her a $10 certificate.

After the free show at the Rio, my cousin hands us each a quarter as we stand by a set of three unoccupied slot machines. Their quarters' aspirations end quickly. Mine turns up 3 blue sevens, and 25 cents becomes five dollars. Knowing my limits, I press the button marked "Cash Out" and hand them the payout ticket. She then moves to another, more complicated machine and promptly converts that amount to $12.75. They redeem this ticket, cutting their modest losses for the weekend by a little.

That night on Fremont Street, as we were leaving, I notice some white booklet on the floor. I pick it up. It's a travelers check booklet, issued by MasterCard and Mizuho Bank and presumably dropped by a Japanese visitor. One check remains inside, for $100. It's not countersigned, but I still feel like I should do something about it. So today I reported it found and mailed it out to the appropriate financial services center. There may or may not be a reward.

I'm normally not this lucky. I think I can explain the streak of good fortune, though: I volunteered to play tour guide for members of my family, so the day wasn't really about me. In other words, it's remarkable how good things can get when I'm playing a supporting role in someone else's story.