Lucky

I have now transcribed three of the four tapes my father in law recorded, some 30,000 words. I am struck by how often life is a game of chance. A recurring phrase in his memories is, "I was lucky" and it punctuates the end of paragraphs in which he describes brushes with death or injury: being shot at by the enemy, being guarded by a different, trigger-happy enemy, falling asleep at the wheel, narrowly missing an open inspection cover in the dark. Yes, he was lucky. Is that true for most of us?