“Some folk want their luck buttered.” — Thomas Hardy

Pro poker player T.J. Cloutier has seen his share of changing fortunes.

He received a sports scholarship. Good luck.

But family financial problems led him to drop out. Bad luck.

He even got a chance to play a pro football in Canada. Good luck.

But got hurt. Bad luck.

He tried his hand at business, without success. Bad luck.

He then got a job, and played poker in his spare time. Good luck!

By the way, Cloutier was born on Friday the 13th.

Life brings all kinds of fortune, but is it luck? One thing to know about luck: You create your own destiny by what you do and how you respond to what goes on around you.

Baseball legend Branch Rickey said, “Luck is the residue of design.”

Movie mogul Sam Goldwyn said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Today is Friday the 13th. Will you be lucky today?

Coach Tully’s Extra Point: Branch Rickey quoted lines from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”:

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster  And treat those two impostors just the same …”