And the Winner is…

“I won!”

“Me?”

“I won!”

“Did I really?”

“Yes, I won!”

I was alone at my computer, so I wasn’t saying this out loud.  But, my mind was racing in a staccato of disbelief.  I’d never won anything before in my life.  But, the flip side is that I rarely enter contests, nor take part in sports, therefore, have not given myself an opportunity to win.

The day before winning, I received an email from a major insurance carrier, who happens to be our insurance carrier.  The email  said “Click here to win 2 tickets to see the upcoming movie The Avengers.  The first 740 to respond win.”  So, I clicked and provided them with a responding email address as instructed.  Nothing happened.  So, I thought to myself, “Well, 740 out of the millions of people who are clients of this insurance company aren’t very good odds.  It isn’t my day to win,” and promptly forgot about it and went on with my day.

The next day, about mid-day, I got the news – I had, indeed, won!  One of 740 out of millions!  Wow; mind-blowing!  Awesome!  The Universe aligned!  I followed the link and printed my coupon for 2 free tickets.

Charlie and I rarely go to movies.  We used to.  We used to go almost every Saturday.  We would go to breakfast first and then go to the first matinée of the day.  But, life interfered with our ritual and we got out of the habit.  And, then other priorities took precedent.

Several weeks later after winning these tickets, Charlie and I were finally able to squeeze in time to take advantage of this freebie.  We went to our local theater and redeemed our certificate for tickets and went inside.  We locked down a space in the handicapped section (Charlie uses a scooter full-time) and settled back for the ride.  Lucky that we arrived a little early; by the time the movie started, the handicapped section was full of other handicapped people and their families (and, they were obviously handicapped; it wasn’t someone trying to steal these spaces!).

I absolutely love movies and I love nothing better than enjoying them on the big screen.  So, this free movie was a real treat.  And while I must confess that I didn’t know these Marvel comic book characters (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, The Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye and Nick Fury) portrayed in this movie because I haven’t seen any of the preceding movies that these characters were in (actually, I only knew The Incredible Hulk character and only because of the TV series of the 1970’s that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno; I’m definitely dating myself!), it wasn’t that difficult to figure it out.  The special effects were awesome, the actors were awesome (and good-looking) and the movie immensely fun!

We don’t get out much!

P.S.  What does this gorgeous picture of Coco have to do with winning tickets to see The Avengers in July?  Nothing.  But, I didn’t take a picture of our trip to the theater, not do I have a picture from the movie (you know about that thing called copyright infringement, right?) and Coco is just so darn cute and this particular picture of him is so darn beautiful, I just thought I should share!  I could have used a Creative Commons picture of Lou Ferrigno or this picture of Coco.  Lou Ferrigno or Coco? (I’m holding out both hands, palms up, weighing my choice) – Lou Ferrigno or Coco?  Who would you choose?

I rest my case.

Tootles,