“The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.”
The morning got warm quickly, too warm for my second cup of coffee so I turned the AC on. The weather report says the temperature will rise as the day gets older. I guess I’m beating the heat to the punch.
My neighbors across the street have central air and use it often, but I think it has more to do with their Katy bar the door mentality than the heat. I was chatting with them the other day, and they mentioned they put the air at 80˚ when they go out so as not to waste electricity, and they keep it at 78˚ when they’re home. They said that was chilly enough for them. I guess the older you get, the less you can tolerate the cold. I suppose I could look forward to that.
Today is Friday the 13th which means absolutely nothing to me. I am not superstitious. I even tempt fate by walking under ladders. Spilled salt is a mess to be cleaned up, and that’s all. I have a black cat, and our paths cross frequently. I looked it up and fear of the day is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. Had I been asked the meaning before now, I would have concentrated on the beginning and guessed something to do with fear of foul language.
When we were kids, we had all sorts of superstitions. Step on a crack and break your mother’s back was one of them. None of us ever stepped on a crack. We didn’t want to tempt fate. When we walked the railroad tracks, we jumped over the ties with double zeros. I don’t remember exactly why, but I do remember there was a dread associated with stepping on those zeros. I never opened an umbrella inside the house simply because it was bad luck, and I was into preventative measures back then. A broken mirror was cause for horror and too many years of bad luck to contemplate.
Today will be the same as every other day. Sometimes life is difficult, but we all accept that. What we don’t need is adding wariness so ignore the dog howling, pick up that coin even if it’s tails up and go ahead and wash that car. Maybe I’ll watch Friday the 13th part 80!
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July 13, 2012 at 10:51 am
OK Kat, here are the Top Ten for such a fun day
The nation’s top 10 fears, superstitions and signs of bad luck ranked in order of ‘superstitiousness’
1. Breaking a mirror
2. Walking under a ladder
3. Friday 13th
4. Opening an umbrella indoors
5. A black cat crossing your path
6. The sight of a single magpie
7. Spilling salt
8. Placing shoes on the table or on the bed
9. Treading on cracks in the pavement
10. Walking over three drains
To this I would add the following
11. Old washed up musicians hawking their wares on JVC
July 13, 2012 at 11:07 am
My Dear Hedley,
This is a great list, and I did get a chuckle out of your number 11! Let us hope our mutual friend will too!
Number 6 is an odd one.
July 13, 2012 at 12:06 pm
#12. Fear of people who don’t know their shopping channels.
July 13, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Yikes – Pounded by im6
Lets try again
11. Super talented musicians that appear to generously offer their really cool new albums on QVC
July 13, 2012 at 12:11 pm
#13. Fear of blunderbuss: An action or way of doing something regarded as lacking in subtlety and precision. ;-0
July 13, 2012 at 12:38 pm
14. Fear of Music
Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit? Heard about Pittsburgh, PA?
You ought to know not to stand by the window Somebody see you up there
July 13, 2012 at 1:19 pm
This ain’t no party. This ain’t no disco. This is Keep The Coffee Coming.
July 13, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Play nice, boys!
July 13, 2012 at 3:00 pm
John Fred and ….
July 13, 2012 at 11:57 am
Every now and again I’m thinking of turning on the radiators but then the sun shows for a while and the cottage gets nice and warm again. It is a difficult weather today, the sun does shine but showers comes and goes and they all vary in strength.
I never care about this day either, it is actually seen as a lucky day in my family and I’ve never understood the fear of number 13
I took a look at that list Hedley posted, I have never heard of that magpie thing! Is it because they rarely are alone? and walking over three drains? Something else I don’t understand
We swedes never wear shoes indoors so we rarely have the need to place them on beds or tables 
I did buy a mower today but the raining keeps me from mowing anything at all, but I have tried it and it is really good, so far
Have a great day!
Christer.
July 13, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Christer,
We are supposed to have rain on Sunday and Monday. I’m hoping! My air is doing just fine, and the house is nice and cool.
The wet grass just sticks to the mower. It will still be there when it dries!
That puppy is so darn cute!!!
July 13, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Here is the Magpie thing, I am putting Kat down for 7 Magpies
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for young
Six for old
Seven for a secret never to be told
July 13, 2012 at 2:08 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I’ll take all seven of them!! I like that: it’s new to me-thanks!
July 13, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Hi Kat,
Railroad ties have numbers? Oops.
Today’s morning newscast is the first time I have ever heard the word friggatriskaidekophobia. I think someone decided that plain old triskaidekophobia doesn’t have enough syllables to make someone seem more learned than the rest of us. I bet there’s a Psycho-Translator app on Google Scholar where you can plug in “fear of (fill in the blank)” and it pops out a $5.00 combinative Greek word for your particular condition.
Whenever I made the horrible mistake of putting my shoes on the table, my mother would say “Shoes on the table, married before you’re able.” I have no idea what she meant, nor did she, but she said it every time.
It’s not too bad inside the house right now even though the AC isn’t on. Might be hot later on.
Enjoy the rest of the day.
July 13, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Hi Caryn,
Some just have that double 00 in the middle. None of the rest have numbers.
I love frigga…It’s a great word. There is an app for everything.
My mother had sayings for somethings but not shoes on the table though I know that is considered unlucky. That little rhyme is new to me.
I just got back from having an ice cream cone. There is a breeze, but I think it is still hot. I am quite comfortable right now.
July 13, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Not one of my Lottery numbers hit after midnight today, in fact all three plays were roll overs. Now that’s unlucky.
July 13, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Z&Me,
Those are the odds!