I’m not particularly superstitious, so I wasn’t too worried when the calendar turned to Friday the 13th last week.
Friday is one of my favorite days of the week, and 13 ain’t nothing but a number, so what’s there to be bothered about?
But according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute – yep, that’s a real place – in Asheville, N.C., about 20 million people in the U.S. are affected by a fear of this day, making it the most feared day and date in history. Some folks are so bothered by the day that they change their daily routines. They don’t fly. They don’t conduct business. Some don’t even get out of bed.
I suspect more than a fair share of people I know suffer from this fear based on the number of people who kept reminding me it was Friday the 13th, as if they expected Jason Voorhees, hockey mask and all, to come out of the shadows at any moment.
People with a fear of the number 13 are said to have “triskaidekaphobia.” And there is actually a name for folks who are afraid of Friday the 13th. They suffer from “paraskevidekatriaphobia.” No, really. Look it up.
One friend certainly suffers from it. She didn’t want to meet for lunch because it was Friday the 13th.
“What?” I responded.
“I just like to lay low on Friday the 13th. You can’t be too careful.”
Well, apparently you can.
As I said, I’m not particularly superstitious. I’ve never worried about having seven years of bad luck if I break a mirror. I’ve never worried about having bad luck from opening an umbrella inside, although I don’t really know why you’d need to open an umbrella inside.
I wish the superstition about the birthday candles was true. You know the one I’m talking about. If you blow out all the candles on your cake on the first try, your wish will come true.
But it doesn’t work. I didn’t get a pony as a child, and I haven’t gotten a date with Sandra Bullock as an adult.
That’s not to say I haven’t done some superstitious things in my life. But most of them have to do with sporting events. I’ve been known to wear the same golf shirt and same pants to games when Georgia gets on a winning streak.
Years ago, we attended a Georgia-Clemson football game in Athens. Before the game, we went to the university’s bookstore next to the stadium.
I found a beautiful golf shirt there, and it was on sale. I bought it. I went to the restroom and changed into it. Clemson then proceeded to upset Georgia on a day Georgia was favored by a couple of touchdowns.
I never wore the shirt again. It hung by itself in the back of my closet for years until I finally gave it to the Salvation Army.
But that’s really it, a few silly things I fall back on to help Georgia win a football game. Beyond that, I don’t think about superstitions much, even on a Friday the 13th when everyone seems to want me to be worried about a rash on impending bad luck.
Nope, I’m not going to let my life be ruled by superstitions because there’s no way any of those silly things can really have an impact on my life.
Knock on wood.
