{"id":3837,"date":"2007-07-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=3837"},"modified":"2015-10-07T10:18:45","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T17:18:45","slug":"lucky-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=3837","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Me"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a9 Zangfubin | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s Friday the 13th<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rest of you might be knocking on wood or throwing salt over your shoulders, but today is my lucky day.<\/p>\n

That’s right. Friday the 13th<\/a> is upon us, and I figure if you’re going to believe in superstitions, you may as well believe that good luck is just as likely to be around the corner as the curse of a black cat.<\/p>\n

Though most people scoff when accused of being superstitious and insist they’re too mature to believe in such hooey, you don’t catch a lot of people purposely walking under ladders, and people don’t really seem to be considering that those rabbit’s feet key chains didn’t bring much luck to the poor bunnies that owned them, unless of course you count being eligible for disability.<\/p>\n

Bunny scam–I smell a Pulitzer.<\/p>\n

Friday the 13th is one of those days that cues the Twilight Zone<\/em> music for me, but in more of an “Ooh, this could be the day I win the lottery” way, rather than an “Uh oh, the crows are swarming above my head” kind of way.<\/p>\n

Although, Alfred Hitchcock was born on Friday the 13th, so if you see the birds swarming it’s probably just a lucky homage. Besides, crows love Hitchcock. If it weren’t for the residuals from The Birds<\/em><\/a>, they’d have to sell their feet or something.<\/p>\n

While I may be in the minority, apparently I’m not alone in thinking that today just might be my lucky day. In China and much of Asia, Friday the 13th is considered a fortunate date, and in Australia, lottery agents reportedly sell 50 percent more tickets than average on these lucky Fridays.<\/p>\n

I thought I’d give Friday the 13th a warm and fuzzy name like Timmy, Barney, or Snuffleupagus, so that more people would realize that this is actually a lucky day. Unfortunately, thanks to the wonders of phobia.com, I found out that there’s already a name for this superstition: Pararkevidekatriaphobia. It’s a combination of three Greek words–Paraskevi means “Friday,” Dekatria means “Thirteen,” and Phobia means “Fear.”<\/p>\n

Just trying to pronounce Pararkevidekatriaphobia<\/a> brings out my fears…parasailing, parasites, the paranormal. Talk about paranoid! Friday the 13th has nothing on phobia pronunciations.<\/p>\n

Yet even engineers and architects struggle to soothe our superstitions. Skyscrapers and hotels have no 13th floor; airplanes have no 13th aisle. I say bring on the 13th row. I’d be happy to have the extra legroom.<\/p>\n

It’s estimated that $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute (Wouldn’t that be a fun place to work?) estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of this day.<\/p>\n

In fact, some people are so paralyzed by fear that they are simply unable to get out of bed when Friday the 13th rolls around. Yes! No traffic!<\/p>\n

Still feeling a little superstitious? After you’ve adorned yourself with garlic and walked around the house 13 times to ward off evil spirits, you might want to get rid of those unlucky one dollar bills by sending them to me. Take a look: there are 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 Latin letters above it, 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 feathers in each of the Eagle’s wings, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 arrows, and 13 bars on the shield.<\/p>\n

I bet you can’t wait to get rid of those unlucky dollars this Friday. Happy Snuffleupagus<\/a>. I told you this was my lucky day.<\/p>\n

Originally appeared in the\u00a0Santa Barbara Daily Sound<\/a>\u00a0on July 13, 2007<\/h6>\n

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