Unlucky

 This week, our class focused on the fictional memoir Videotapes by Don Delillo in which it highlighted the arbitrary nature of life and underscored how a lot of things turn out not to be in our favor. It portrays the broad theme of how anyone can be anywhere and anytime, whether that’s as a victim,alibi,or just an unlucky civilian taking a walk. It’s the sad but honest truth; the hardest working and diligent individual could be the victim of anything—unrelated but unfortunate. 


I, myself, had a very similar situation like this, this very past spring break in Toronto. During my visit there, we went to Eaton Centre, a very modern and trendy shopping center, where me and my family were casually browsing and spending time together. Upon entering, obviously there were hints of marijuana and individuals who were intoxicated–this was understandable as we were walking through one of the most heavily populated areas in Canada. 


Everything was completely normal until we came out of the centre.


Police cars blocked entrances and intersections, people tried to leave, all while shouts and screams filled the air. We absolutely had no idea what was happening, curious, but went our way to a pharmacy to pick up some allergy medication. That’s when I overheard the pharmacists talking to a customer: “A man pulled out a knife and attempted to stab people.” At that moment, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of shock and surprise. She continued, “But apparently the suspect ran away; he’s somewhere close.” At that moment, I felt a sense of fear I'd never felt before–a feeling where my life was in jeopardy. Because of this, I couldn’t help but become overly sensitive around my surroundings, keeping my guard up in the slight chance that the suspect was near me.


Everyone at that time became a victim to this attack; I became more aware of my surroundings and accepted the fact: everyone has an equal chance of being unlucky.

Comments

  1. Aidan S.4/26/2026

    This is a nice connection between a real life experience and the Videotapes piece. I also remember going to the Toronto Eaton Centre during spring break, but could never have imagined the chaos that you and your family went through. This instance is a very good reminder of the message from the Videotapes story, that indeed, everyone does have an equal chance of being unlucky.

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  2. LANGonardo Da Vinci4/26/2026

    This blog was great Daniel. I think this story perfectly ties into what we learned in Videotapes, the fact that literally anything could happen at any given time. I also love that you added how this experience almost became a "life-lesson"". I'm glad you're safe!

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  3. Kevin4/26/2026

    Very nice blog, i like how you connected this personal experience to videotapes, this is obviously a very traumatic experience and its very unplanned just like the video the girl took in videotapes. It made me realize more about what you said at the end, how everyone has an equal chance of being unlucky.

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