Rick Archer's Note:  

What is a Charmed Life?  The concept refers to a life characterized by an unusual amount of good luck.  This can range from major career breaks to an uncanny ability to avoid difficulties and escape negative consequences.  It implies a sense of being protected or favored by fortune, as if by magic.  Some dictionary definitions say it suggests being magically protected from harm. 

In my case, I often substitute the words 'Cosmic' and 'Supernatural' for 'Magic' because I assume these blessings are Divine in origin. 

'Leading a Charmed Life' describes a person who consistently experiences good fortune, often without a clear explanation for their luck.  A charmed life can also refer to someone who encounters difficulties but consistently overcomes them, appearing to be shielded from significant harm.  It often implies a sense of being unusually fortunate and protected, even if challenges are present.

Yes, I believe I have lived a Charmed Life.  Over the course of my life I have received a considerable number of lucky breaks, more than one would assume was my fair share.  My List of Suspected Supernatural Events is so vast that I have written five books just to cover every unusual story in detail.  Along the way I have come to believe in Divine Intervention.  Why?  Consider the following examples. 

Age 5, my father and I were headed to a stock car race track.  A sudden desire to play a nearby arcade game stopped me in my tracks.  I impulsively grabbed my father's hand and insisted he let me play.  Before my father could even reply, at that moment a driver lost control of his car.  With the race track hidden by a flimsy wooden fence, we had no idea a vehicle was hurtling towards us.   Bursting through the fence at 100 mph, the car narrowly missed my father and me by inches.  The driver hit a telephone pole and was killed, but we were spared.  Where did that thought come from?

Age 9, I was admitted to St. John's, the top academic private school in Texas.  Given the strange circumstances surrounding my admission, my presence there was a complete fluke.  My father had to go deep into debt just to pay for three years.  After he quit paying, I received six more years of superior education thanks to a very kind scholarship.  I graduated with honors.

Age 18, I was immersed in a high school crisis of my own making.  Upset that my mistakes would force me to miss a year of college, I was locked in a suicidal depression.  Out of nowhere, a woman who had never met me noticed how upset I was.  In a flash, she turned into a modern version of a Fairy Godmother.  During our remarkable conversation, this special lady released me from my pain.

Age 18, two weeks later a man I had never met in my life handed me a full scholarship to college.

Age 18, one month later I was involved in a serious car accident that could have easily cost me my life.  I was thrown out my car door, but my feet were inexplicably pinned inside.  Lying helpless in the street, a dozen passing cars whizzed by in the other lane.  They each missed hitting my head by two feet.  Finally able to extricate myself, I walked away without a scratch. 

Age 20, now in college, I was immersed in another near-suicidal depression.  Out of nowhere, a strange voice in my head warned me to get immediate help.  The next day I visited a local Quaker Meeting and met a man who took me under his wing.  His suggestion to read a book titled Autobiography of Yogi served as my introduction to mystical possibilities such as Fate and Karma.  Not only did the book lift my depression, it gave me the inspiration to lead a more spiritual life.

Age 24, I was thrown out of graduate school.  It was my own fault.  Immersed yet again in another Rock Bottom depression, a strange book titled The Mistress Book appeared out of thin air.  Inside I discovered the suggestion that would one day change the course of my life: Learn to dance. 

Age 28, I was handed a career as a dance teacher out of thin air.  Considering I was a part-time line dance instructor with a class of 5 students, I had little prior experience when Saturday Night Fever debuted.  Strangely enough, on Day One I was the only Disco teacher in the city.  Despite long odds against success, I became Houston's best-known Disco instructor due to a series of lucky breaks.  Overwhelmed by my good fortune, I felt like God had moved a mountain to give me this chance.

Age 28, six months later, a man named Eric appeared at my dance studio.  Eric was handsome, charismatic and exceptionally good at social dance.  Eric explained to my boss that he had taught Disco and Latin in Los Angeles, adding he had won several contests.  Once my boss saw the newcomer in action, he removed me from my upcoming class and gave it to Eric instead.  Given that my boss viewed me as a mediocre dancer and teacher, I believed it was a matter of time till I received my walking papers.  When Lance Stevens called a meeting, I assumed the worst.  However, to my surprise, the weirdest thing happened.  Eric showed up very late and did not apologize.  Instead he brusquely took a seat, put his feet up on Stevens' desk, then told his boss he expected to be made a partner in the business.  Mind you, Eric had only been at the studio for three weeks.  Stevens was so offended by Eric's arrogance, he fired him on the spot.  I was in shock.  Eric was so far superior to me as a teacher, his sudden demise felt like a miracle.  What would cause Eric to lose his mind?  Seeing Eric self-destruct, my dance career was allowed to continue uninterrupted.

Age 29, I was handed a job as Country-Western teacher at the Meyerland Club.  Although I did not want this job, the strange circumstances persuaded me to accept the offer.  Over the next two months, I scraped by despite no experience, no desire, and no one with training to teach me.

Age 30, on Fright Night I was cornered not once, but twice.  Somehow as if by magic I extricated myself from both jams.  During the Ides of Waltz, where did the inspiration to create an instant Waltz Travel Step come from?  During Fright Night, where did the inspiration to choose Sally as my dance partner come from?  Both ideas popped into my mind just in the nick of time.  Was I really that clever?  Or did someone save me with a telepathic suggestion? 

Although I received all sorts of lucky breaks throughout childhood, the thought that I was leading a Charmed Life did not occur to me until Saturday Night Fever came along.  Considering what a lousy dancer I was and how long it took me to become competent, it struck me as absurd that I became the best-known Disco instructor in the city right off the bat.  If you knew the odds against me and how strange this twist of Fate was, you would have been spooked too.  Out of nowhere a career had been handed to me.  Did this mean I was Destiny's Child?  It certainly felt that way. 

However I was not convinced.  Despite the remarkable coincidence that connected the Mistress Book to my lucky career break, an element of doubt seemed to linger.  Maybe this impression that I was luckier than most people was a figment of imagination.  I was a lonely young man who had accomplished little to this point.  Maybe I was reading more into my sudden success than I had a right to.  I could see no apparent reason why I deserved so much good fortune, especially since I did not feel it was something I had earned through past good deeds.  Since there was no obvious explanation for my continued good fortune, I turned to Mysticism for my answer.  Ultimately, I decided that Fate was involved. 

Nevertheless, an element of uncertainty remained until Fright Night.  Following Fright Night, all doubt was gone.  Fright Night was the moment I became totally convinced I was leading a Charmed Life. 

I was trapped twice that night, once by my Waltz mistake, the other by 20 Conspirators.  Under ordinary circumstances, I would have given myself no chance to escape unscathed.  Fortunately, thanks to some quick thinking, I made it through both jams without a scratch.  I suppose I could sing my praises, but that would be inappropriate.  If I was so damn smart, then why was I unable to think of a way to extricate myself from Doorstep Night a month earlier?   I was a mindless Zero on Doorstep Night only to become a clever Hero on Fright Night.  So which one am I, the smart guy or the idiot? 

Something very strange had been going on from the moment Sandy called me on Labor Day.  No matter how hard I resisted the idea of teaching Western dancing, I felt like I was being pushed into this against my will.  However, it did no good to resist.  No matter how hard I tried to self-destruct... flying blind, procrastination, faking my way to cover my ignorance... I was magically rescued from my own stupidity time after time. 

How many cats had to die in order for me to carry on in spite of myself? 

I remember Fright Night vividly.  I was on Supernatural Alert from the moment I escaped my Ides of Waltz crisis with the sudden Travel Step inspiration.  Either I was that clever or it was my Fate to succeed in spite of myself (in which case thank my lucky stars).  But let's get serious.  Coming out of left field, that Travel Step idea smacked of Divine Inspiration.  Then came the Conspiracy.  Was I really so clever that I could fool these experienced Disco students despite my reckless behavior?  Of course not!  In fact, I had not fooled them at all.  I was surrounded by 20 people, at least half of whom suspected I was a fraud.  They knew something was wrong or they would not have cornered me in the first place.

Now ask yourself why they did not confront me with a single question.  They had the perfect opportunity to expose me on the spot, but instead they gave me a second chance to prove myself at Cowboy.  Why did they show mercy?  Maybe because I was charmed.  It is scary to think an invisible force magically protected me from harm, but I had to wonder. 

As for my decision to ask Sally to dance, that idea popped into my mind the moment I stood up.  With Lynette standing by ready to pounce, I fully expected one dance with her would seal my doom.  However, the moment I saw Sally sitting there ten feet away, I had my solution.  The idea came out of nowhere.  Yet again it felt like Divine Inspiration.  

I was convinced I had no business escaping either trap... except that I did.  To me, it was like the Universe refused to let me fail not just on Fright Night, but after every stupid mistake I made at the Meyerland Club as well.   Defying the odds one time after another and lacking any obvious explanation for my continued good fortune, I decided that teaching Western was my Destiny.  What else could it be?  I did not choose Western, Western was chosen for me.

The moment danger passed during Fright Night, an eerie feeling came over me.  I realized how fortunate I was not to give up.  To my shock, I not only survived, I was powerfully energized by the experience.  It is not often a man is given a new lease on life in such a dramatic way.  Incredible as it seemed, I believed God had moved a second mountain on my behalf.  So what was I going to do with my Charmed Life?  I vowed to become the best Country-Western teacher I was capable of.