It was a Friday the 13th.  The wind was howling early in the morning as I ran to catch the stopped "L" train at Irving Park Road.  In Chicago, on the Blue Line, that stop is in the middle of the expressway.  Cars were racing north to O'Hare and south to the Loop causing more wind to knock around our commuter hats and scarves. 

I ran up the last few steps an toward the stopped train.  Without slowing down, I crouched slightly grabbed something that caught my eye and shoved the mystery into my pocket and jumped into the train car as the doors shut behind me.  

 When I got to work I reached into my pocket.  My hand clutched around the crazy wad of something that I pulled gently out of my pocket and released on the top of my desk in front of my co-work Kay. 

"What cha got there, Missy?"  She was an old woman who was younger than I am now.  At the time, she seemed ancient, especially since she calle me "Missy."

"Looks like a wad of money." I started counting it.  "I found it on the "L" platform."

"That looks like a lot of cash."

"Mm, hmm."

"I'll bet it's over $100."

"A hundred and twenty...a hundred and thirty..."

"It was just sitting there?  In a wad?"She got up from her desk and walked up to mine to stare as the bundled wad turned into an organized stack.

"A hundred and forty, a hundred and fifty, fifty-five, a hundred and sixty one, two, three dollars."

"A hundred and sixty-three dollars?  Just sitting there?"

"Yep.  In a flat spot in the middle of a windy platform between the lanes of the Kennedy Expressway."

"On Friday the 13th?  Someone lost a lot of money today."

"But it's my lucky day."

"Yes, Missy, it sure is your lucky day."

I called my mother and told her to invite her parents out to brunch on Sunday, my treat.

"Missy, that's a nice thing to do with it.  Maybe it'll bring you luck."

"I already have luck.  I figured I'd spread it around a little."