Today is  another thirteenth on the calendar and not only a thirteenth, but the second Friday with the number thirteen in 2009. First February and now March. How “lucky” is that? I wonder if this has anything to do with the plunging stock market? And here we’ve been blaming greed. Tsk. Tsk.

I was thinking about how the world of children’s literature capitalizes on our superstition.  One famous example that pops up when you Google those key words is A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Handler AKA Lemony Snicket.
Does he end his children’s book series at book twelve?

No.The final book is titled Book the Thirteenth. And did you notice that all of the other books in the series consist of thirteen chapters? Not accidental in the least.

I love that one character in Book the Thirteenth is called Friday. Hmmm nice. Literary allusion to Robinson Crusoe? Stranded. Alone. But there’s definitely a connection to that Friday the Thirteenth.

I’m really not superstitious. Really–fingers crossed–but this is the only post I’m doing today and I’m not sending out any submissions. Nope, not one.

“Do you realize that today is not only the 13th day of the month, but also FRIDAY?” That’s my frontal lobes screaming at me.

But it’s too late. All those wily authors on this site have snatched the “safe” days, those benign 1sts and 5ths. So here I am actually risking serious consequences by not following my own best advice which is do nothing more than read a good book, drink lukewarm tea on Friday the Thirteenth and stay safe.

There are others out there like me, those who are afflicted by Paraskevidekatriaphobia. You might as well confess.  Here are some interesting stats that prove I’m right.

British Medical Journal published results of a study (Scanlon et al. 1993) which analyzed the relationship between health, behavior, and superstition’s beliefs related to Friday 13th.  Here’s what they reported: the ratio of traffic
volume to traffic accidents on Friday the 13th increased about 52%. Their advice? “Stay home.”

There’s more. Approximately, “$800 to $900 million are lost each Friday the 13th (Roach 2004) as a result of people avoiding travel, wedding plans, moving, and so on. ” (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Trisdaikekaphobia.html)

So who out there is flying in the face of fate today and actually DOING something foolhardy like moving to Milwaukee or driving to work? Maybe you’re really pushing your luck and submitting to an agent or an editor. Oh no!

I’m almost finished here and I have one more chore before I pull on my asbestos gloves and boil water for tea. I have to feed my cat. He happens to be black. Now talk about brave.