Luck or Fate?

When I was a student at pre-med school, my biology teacher (Dr. Solomon) and I discovered our shared love for classical music. This brought us together as listeners, and we often discussed Beethoven, Toscanini, and Beethoven’s 9th symphony. It was hot stuff at the time because Toscanini conducted an orchestra created by NBC just for him. On this extraordinary evening, the NBC orchestra played the 9th sympathy with full choir. As luck would have it, we both listened while at our homes to this remarkable rendition of Beethoven’s symphony. I even remember crying at its conclusion — and as I discovered, so did the professor. It is a grand memory I will never forget to this day.

During this period, my sister moved to LA, and I decided to go where she was. Not only to help her with her family, but I intended to enroll at UCLA. Interestingly, my friend and professor also thought this was an excellent idea and that I study psychology instead of medicine. He constantly commented on my ability to be with and communicate with others. He thought this very special, and I thought of him as very special, so with his prodding, I thought, why not? As it happened, this brought Lennette and me together at UCLA. Perhaps you know that story? If not, Let me tell you.

Lenette had a job at the Santa Monica YMCA teaching swimming but accidentally stopped by my table where I was interviewing for summer work at our day camp. She so loved the philosophy I talked about that she decided on the spot to work for me at the day camp. Incidentally, I had the thought that “I just met the girl I’m going to marry.” Amazingly, Lenette had a similar experience. Shortly after our interview, she ran into some friends who also had summer jobs, told them about our discussion, and mentioned: “this is the guy I’m going to marry.”


Life is full of strange twists, and we have our share of them. Some work out — like moving in with my sister to help her, enrolling at UCLA, finding the estate in Malibu to rent and turn into a day camp, and meeting and marrying Lenette.

Then, of course, the strange story of finding the 80 acres we purchased and turned into the miracle of Camp Shasta was even more serendipitous!


Life is so strange———-We think it just plays itself out———Not true, it plays us.

Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

3 thoughts on “Luck or Fate?”

  1. Hi Sy, Happy 95th Birthday on the 5th of December, it is a bit belated but very sincere.
    Night time OX
    has been my friend for many years and helps me get a good nights sleep.
    We hope to get together after the holiday season. Love and best wishes to both of you, Ann and Steve
    Mahoney.

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