January 2019

Snipers and Snakes:

Let’s talk about Burmese Pythons. Burmese Pythons are big snakes and big problems. Not as big as snipers but big anyway. In Vietnam, our soldiers got to see both Burmese Python snakes and snipers.

My neighbor has three purple hearts from Vietnam and taught at Columbia University, Emory, and Kennesaw University while starting a successful business. He was drafted into the Army out of Law School. We had ice cream with him and his wife one Sunday afternoon and we started talking about fishing and the subject turned to snakes….and snipers. Continue reading Snipers and Snakes →

Superstitions

Most of us would probably not admit to having superstitions or paying any credence to any that we hear of. After all, superstitions are something out of the dark ages. Superstitions have no place in today’s enlightened society. What with Alexis and Google. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superstition

But, even big companies have some superstitions they try to work around. The hotels and office buildings with no 13^th floors would be glaring examples of people giving in to such superstitions as the 13^th floor being cursed or unlucky. J.W. Marriott was quoted in 2007 as saying one of the first things he learned was you don’t go to 13. Not all hotels go along with the superstitions, of course.

Friday the 13^th is unlucky. Everyone knows that. They even made a famous classic movie about it. One version is Judas Iscariot was the 13^th guest on Friday the 13^th.

Ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes, is common to a lot of us including yours truly.

I have a neighbor that is very smart but insists that you come in and go out of her house the same way. Bad luck if you don’t. That applies if she comes to your house, too.

Down in Sandy Point, if a black cat crossed the road in front of the car, my grandfather, who always wore a hat, would turn his hat around backwards to offset the dangers represented by having the cat cross in front.

Itchy palms mean good luck and an itching nose meant someone was coming. And there is that one about walking under a ladder. Somehow, that one always seemed to have merit. Maybe that has to do with someone dropping a hammer on your head or paint. Superstitions? Some say the triangle created by the ladder represents life. Holding your nose for five seconds is said to counteract any ill effects.

Be sure and don’t break a mirror because that bad luck goes on for years! But finding a horseshoe, now that is good luck. Maybe it wasn’t for the horse.

Don’t open an umbrella in the house or spill salt. Knocking on wood can bring good luck. Superstitions.

Say “Bless you” when you sneeze came from the Pope requiring everyone be blessed when they sneezed in 1665. They thought the person was likely to die soon from the Black Plague.

Many athletes have certain shoes or pants or bats and gloves that they feel “bring them luck” and go through personal rituals before their contests to insure victory. We have seen the lucky rabbit’s foot from a seriously unlucky rabbit, the special coin, or the four leaf clover.

Yes, like it or not, admit or not, and deny it or not, many of us have our little superstitions that affect us and how we do things. In the song The Gambler, the singer says, “You never count your money when you are sitting at the table.” Just talking about a deal can jinx it, in the mind of some. This brings us to today, Friday April 13^th.

Are Black Cats bad luck?

Even if it’s not Friday the 13th! You need to know about such things! (We have two in 2019)

My wife came home from work one day and said that her car was making a noise. I went to look and also heard a noise. Inside the fender well of her car was a small black kitten. It had ridden the 25 miles from her office and survived. We kept that cat for over 20 years! This was a “Lucky” black cat. We named it: Black Cat!

Maybe we all have a superstition hidden away somewhere that we don’t like to talk about. Or, maybe we are too superstitious to tell anyone!