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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC, and I don't need to tell you, Jewish listeners, that it's Hanukkah, so happy Festival of Lights to everyone out there celebrating. Tonight will be the third night.

In honor of the holiday, we're going to spend the last 15 minutes of the show inviting calls from listeners of all faith or no faith, tell us about a time when despite the odds stacked against you, you miraculously triumphed because that's the Hanukkah story. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692, or tweet @BrianLehrer.

Here are some possible kinds of things you might tell us that we're inviting you to tell in honor of Hanukkah. A personal story that aligns with this theme, the one night of oil wound up lasting for eight nights, and all of that from the Hanukkah story, it was a miracle they say, and the odds were so stacked against the Jewish Maccabean Army.

Tell us about a time when despite the odds stacked against you and it doesn't have to be as big as that, you miraculously triumphed, 212-433-WNYC. Maybe you got into your league school applying to college, or a really competitive job. "I can't believe I got that job. I was 10 years younger than everybody else who was applying and less experienced. They must have thought I was really good for some reason."

Maybe you beat a terminal illness, maybe you survived a war and I can't help but think of the Jews in Ukraine right now who are lighting manures without any heat or electricity in their homes because of the Russian assaults on their infrastructure and not just Jews, obviously, but it's Hanukkah.

Maybe some of you out there have experienced a miracle where something was in short supply like the candle oil all those thousands of years ago, but you made it stretch far beyond what everyone thought was possible.

Give us a call, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692, or tweet @BrianLehrer and tell us about a time when you triumphed despite the odds. I wonder how many Jewish listeners have had something good against the odds happen to you and you had the thought, "Gosh, it's like Hanukkah. They only had one night of oil that lasted eight nights while I--" fill in the blank.

I wonder if we'll get any lottery winners on the call board. That's certainly an example of beating the odds or even housing lottery winners, but it also doesn't have to be that huge. We'll take your miracles, large or small. Maybe you found something you thought was lost and lost forever, like a gold ring in an old gym bag, I don't know, or maybe you ran into someone you lost touch with in a totally random, unexpected way.

Tell us your against-the-odds stories in honor of Hanukkah, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692, or 280-character version on Twitter @BrianLehrer, and we'll take your calls and tweets right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. In honor of Hanukkah, a few of your stories of beating the odds in your own life. Brent, in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Brent, thanks so much for calling in.

Brent: Hi, Brian. Longtime listener and second time calling. Six years ago, I went in-- at this time during December cold, went into the hospital. There was fluid around my lungs and my heart. They couldn't figure out what was going on. Turns out I had four T-cells, full-blown AIDS and they weren't for sure I was even going to make it through the night.

Over the course of six weeks, I had this one lovely nurse who sat with me and told me stories of her time at Mount Sinai being a nurse in the AIDS ward and I almost felt like it was a fever dream. I was so sick getting these meds into me and a week later I was completely on the road to health. I have now been undetectable for six years, and I cannot track down this nurse's name. To me, she's an angel, and it all happened six years ago this month.

Brian Lehrer: Has it affected your outlook on your own life?

Brent: Absolutely. I now view all of my life before being diagnosed as before and as after. When the pandemic actually hit, it was a wide-eyed opening to, "I've been through this." Gay men have been through a pandemic, and it completely changes your mind going forward. A lot of stuff doesn't bother me.

Brian Lehrer: Brent, thank you.

Brent: A lot of stuff doesn't bother me.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Brent: Thanks, Brian. Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah.

Brian Lehrer: And you, be well. Beth in Long Island City, you're on WNYC. Hi, Beth.

Beth: Hi, boy. I have won a case four times in a row against the City University of New York to get my job back. They try and keep people out of tenure. I'm a professor at a school for CUNY and we're still fighting. They've attacked me a fifth time. I'm the only person this has happened to as far as we know at CUNY, but it's very hard to fight against a university. Arbitration often takes two to three years. I'm hoping to get my job back for a fifth time. We've won four times. That's amazing.

Brian Lehrer: Beth, good luck. Thank you for telling the story. John on the Upper West Side, you're on WNYC. Hi, John.

John: Hi. My story is that years ago, I had a small theater company in Worcester, Massachusetts, and we were in dress rehearsal for the Fantastics. The performance was the next day, and at the top of the dress rehearsal, my music director and piano player said, "I'm leaving," and he walked out and we sat around and went, "Oh my God, what are we going to do?"

I think we sat there for 30 minutes and mostly stunned. There was a knock on the door of the small theater. I went to answer the door, which was locked during rehearsals, and this little guy was standing on the doorway and he said, in broken English, "Have you need for piano player?" I thought, "Oh my God." I walked him to the piano, and he was able to play the score on-site and transpose for the actors so that he would play in their key when they were singing. It was a miracle.

Brian Lehrer: How did he even know you needed a piano player?

John: I never figured that out. His English was too bad to even tell me. [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: That is a miracle. I can relate a little bit because we've had days on the show where we're about to start the show and we've got this lead guest and 30 seconds before the show we find the lead guest canceled, but your story-- I can always vamp and ask for phone calls. You had to find a piano player, and you did. That's an amazing story. Thank you, John.

Chris in Montclair, you're on WNYC. Hi, Chris.

Chris: Hi. I'm on my way right now to Montclair State University where I'm teaching creative thinking. That's a miracle because 30 years ago I was on my way to New York waiting for my bus and I got hit in the head by a vehicle and ended up with a serious traumatic brain injury. They didn't know if I would live, walk, or speak and I was able to, over the years by working hard and praying and asking for miracles and support from others, able to finish a doctorate, have another child, and go off into universities and teach and I love it.

Brian Lehrer: Fabulous, Chris. I'm so glad. How has it changed your outlook on life?

Brian Lehrer: It really does change my outlook. I look for the creative ways to solve problems. I look for obstacles. I'm sensitive to students with needs and difficulties and challenges, which there are a lot. That's how it changes my outlook.

Brian Lehrer: Wonderful, Chris. Thank you very much. Gary in Queens, you're on WNYC. Hi, Gary.

Gary: Hi, about five years ago I beat a traffic light summon as running a red light, and the penalties that accrued. The reason I beat it-- the odds were against me because I didn't even get the notice of liability that shows photos showing. All I did was I didn't plead not guilty. I just said the penalties are wrong, and here's why. The administrative law judge declined my appeal, but she made a mistake. She misrepresented my arguments, and on appeal, I won. I'd have to pay a penny.

By the way, if you're interested in policy, hundreds of thousands of tickets are issued through traffic lights. Look at the Department of Finance website, how many people got tickets this way, where they didn't use Verified Service? Verified Service, as you know, is serve the guilty party with verification, notarized affidavit. They don't do that.

Brian Lehrer: Your Hanukkah miracle was you're going to get convicted and have to pay the traffic ticket, and the judge made a mistake which allowed you to win on appeal. Do you--

Gary: The only way because you can't prove a negative. You can't prove it got lost in the mail. You try to say I should have recorded the conversation of me with the DMV agent, trying to explain to her that something could get lost in the mail. She says, "Sir, it shows that we sent out summons to you." I said, "But you couldn't get across the fact that something could get lost in the mail."

Brian Lehrer: Right. Send it certified mail next time, Mr. City of New York. Gary, thank you very much. Jim in West Hampton, you're on WNYC. Hi, Jim.

Jim: Hi. Nice to be on. Thank you. In 1969 and 1970, I served a year in Vietnam. I was an infantry platoon leader. I found out much later in life that our average expected life cycle would be like 17 minutes after we got off our first helicopters, was twice wounded over there, and I was able to survive.

What I am most excited about is my ability nowadays to empathize with young veterans and discuss with them and let them talk about their war experiences so I can lead them to the VA so that the Veterans Administration can help them, particularly during the holidays, which are rather difficult times for a lot of veterans. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Very good, very Hanukkah Maccabean survived a war. Victoria in Greenpoint is going to get the last one. Victoria, we have 30 seconds. Hi.

Victoria: Hi, Brian. Big fan. I lost my wallet two Thursdays ago, and it was nowhere. I had no idea where it went. I was looking in the streets, at the store that I thought I lost it at, and I just gave up, and I canceled my credit card. I had no idea who had my wallet. Then just a couple of days ago, somebody found me on Instagram, and I got my wallet back. I said it was a Hanukkah miracle.

Brian Lehrer: With the words "it was a Hanukkah miracle" we end this call. Victoria, thank you so much. We had the big ones. The AIDS, the cancer, survive in Vietnam. We had the small ones. The lost wallet, I guess, is relatively small. The traffic ticket, the piano player. Hanukkah miracles happen in real life. Thanks for your calls.

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