Uh huh…it’s Friday the 13th…of November (although the month doesn’t seem to matter). I don’t suffer from triskaidekaphobia. That’s a great word…if you’re not afraid of the date you could just get nervous about a word like that. I mean…if a doctor told you that you had contracted triskaidekaphobia you’d be wondering where they would stick the needle…and who did you catch it from…all that. I have lots of other superstitions, some I inherited from my granny, others were drug induced. Encounters with police will give you superstitions…make it possible for you to see around corners. I knew a man in the army who buried a bottle of whiskey outside the door of any house he moved into. Told me that sometimes he could only afford a mickey and he figured it was only half as good as a full quart. Seemed like a waste of whiskey to me…but he did it anyway. He was a brick- layer by trade and a scammer by preference. He would pick a street in a residential area…go out at night and climb up to the roof…chip the mortar out of some bricks on the chimney and displace a few of the bricks. He’d hit four or five house that way, then later in the week he’d knock on the door of the houses…point out the dangerously damaged chimney and the fact that as a brick-layer it was lucky he happened to notice…and well, he was free this week…etc. etc. …Oh! and he noticed the neighbour’s chimney looked a little shaky…do you happen to know if they’re home? Six or seven chimneys would keep him in spending money for a month…but he had to keep moving from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.
I’ve known people to stay at home on Friday the thirteenth…on the premise that one can’t be too careful. And even if you don’t believe it, you need to be aware that some fool who does could have an unlucky lapse and knock you off your bike. Like I said …it’s not one of mine but…I’ll keep an eye out for black cats and leaning ladders today.
You’d think that people would have enough bad luck in any given year that it wouldn’t be necessary to have a special day for it. Maybe the idea is that if you have a really bad fucking day…then you’re cool for the rest of the month or two or three before the next one. Who knows…humans didn’t get ahead of the chimps without some clever mystical bullshit. It could be that these superstitious gestures have a deeper and much more rational purpose. Perhaps they’re reminders handed down for generations that we all need to remain alert, not just of the things we see and hear around us but also things unseen and unheard…things that could take us by surprise. Seems sensible when you look at it that way…you don’t have to be asleep to wake up.
Friday the 13th…wake up!…stay alert. Have a good day.
The moon according to Bob:
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