Cooperative Living March/April 2020 - 42

Rural Living | by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Writer
The Luck
of the Irish
Fortuity in overcoming misfortune
W
ill you celebrate St. Patrick's Day
this month, regardless of whether
you're Irish? I probably should
be among those dancing in the streets.
(Although there is no way I'll drink beer,
especially if it's green!)
The heritage my family has been able to
ascertain is French, foremost. We can trace
that line to Col. John Jarboe, who was born
in Dijon in 1619. His is a great story. He
sailed to what would become America in
1642 and then walked from Virginia to
modern-day St. Mary's County, Md. There, he
set up a homestead that later became a nice
estate, Long Lane Farm. He was a sheriff for
a while and served in Maryland's House
of Burgesses. The colonel also started a
long line of descendants.
Fortunately for future genealogists,
his sons had sons who had sons, and so
on, right down to my maternal grandmother.
The lineage was easy to trace. My Aunt
Margaret Jarboe Jackson did that sometime
in the 1960s.
The lovely piece of land where Long Lane
Farm stood became, many generations later,
part of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
When Aunt Margaret heard they were tearing
down the old house, she marched over to the
base guardhouse and demanded entry. Being
the headstrong woman she was, she made it
to the pile of rubble and grabbed some of the
old bricks. I am lucky to have one of those
sitting in my dining room, a decoration of
sorts, which I stroke lovingly from time to
time and think of my long line of ancestors.
In the 1800s, two sisters from Limerick,
Ireland, also made their way across the sea
and into Maryland. They were Mary
Elizabeth and Katie Loveless. (What a sad
surname, eh?) Mary Elizabeth married
Andrew Jarboe; they were my greatgrandparents.
So, it turns out I do have Irish
heritage.
We always hear about the " luck of the
Irish " and I am certain I inherited some of
that. I have been surprisingly lucky. It's not as
if I've won the lottery, but at least twice I won
something even better: The Life Lottery.
40 | Cooperative Living | March-April 2020
In the past two decades, I have
experienced malignant melanoma in
spades. The first time, I endured five
surgeries in as many months. Things
looked dire for a while, but today, I am
20 years cancer-free. I am lucky.
Not too long ago, I was sitting here
typing and suddenly felt the worst pain of
my life. I could barely make it to the phone.
Turns out, my " innards " had ruptured.
When the ambulance finally carried me the
jarring 80 miles to LewisGale Hospital in
Salem, the surgeon said, " We must hurry.
You've only got about 90 minutes to live. "
I was lucky.
A bunch of horror and machines
and subsequent surgeries later
(including five weeks in
hospitals), I was put back together
in just three months. It doesn't
seem that long, except it was almost
unendurable. I was so lucky.
It's not just medical maladies. For
instance, this week I was driving and
suddenly came upon a huge pile of fallen
tree limbs and branches. I had no choice
but to run right over them. A limb about
15 feet long lodged beneath my car, half
out, half under. An angel I didn't know
stopped and worked mightily to unwedge,
pull and tug the limb out, while I
maneuvered the car in 2-foot increments.
I feared my tires were flattened. They
were not. I feared the limb had punctured
something important and expensive.
It had not. I was very lucky.
When I told a friend this story, she
immediately said, " You're the luckiest
person I know. " And she's right.
I can't count the times I've pulled
through something or other that's dire.
And scary.
I think, come March 17, I should
celebrate my lucky Irish heritage. 
To order Margo's fun book, " A Party
of One, " please call 540-468-2147,
Mon.-Thurs. from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., or
email therecorderoffice@gmail.com.
co-opliving.com
WherezIt?
Look for the CL logo, like the one here, in
the pages of each issue of Cooperative Living.
Let us know what page you find it on and
submit your answer, along with your name,
email and phone number, to WherezIt, c/o
Cooperative Living, P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen,
VA 23058-2340 or go online at co-opliving.com
under " Contests. " The deadline for this
month's entries is March 20. The winner will
receive an Amazon gift card for $25.
The CL in the January issue
was hidden on page 17.
Mary Mueller of Hebron, Md.,
is our WherezIt winner.
Congratulations, Mary!
WhatzIt?
Each issue, we will publish a photo of a familiar
but unidentified object. You are invited to make
your best guess and submit it in writing, along
with your name, email and phone number.
Either mail to WhatzIt?, c/o Cooperative Living,
P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340
or guess online at co-opliving.com under
" Contests. " The deadline for this month's
entries is March 20. The winner will receive
a $25 Amazon gift card.
DO YOU
KNOW WHAT
THIS IS?
The January WhatzIt was a snowflake.
Ryan Turner of Jonesville, Va., was our
Amazon gift card winner.
Congratulations, Ryan!
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Cooperative Living March/April 2020

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