Chapter 1 begins with the reminiscences of Dan Hatch about the meaning of a “red-letter day” (3). He remembers that as a child he naively thought it meant receiving a red letter in the mail, but later realized it meant a day when something good and unexpected happens to you. He gives the example of a day when he a hundred dollars in cash and merchandise after his normal routine of breakfast in the morning and his mom posting his daily chores. At noon he entered a bike race with his best friend Arthur Darlington and, although he came in third-to-last, he won the raffle afterwards. His prizes included a new bike, a helmet, and $100.

Dan then explains that since he’s older now, he knows there are black-letter days too. Like red-letter days, they also come without any advance notice. He imagines if God did send out a warning in the mail in a black envelope, it would “save a lot of trouble and grief” (5). He explains his worst black-letter day was June 3 of the previous summer, in which the weather called for a slight chance of thunderstorms, which was not unusual.