According to Wikipedia, we have one to three Friday the 13ths each year. This year we are allotted two – today and in October.
The history of Friday the 13th is too long to discuss here, but I will mention that in Hispanic and Greek culture the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th, and in Italy it is Friday the 17th.
So, as I love to do here, let’s get wildly creative and set a NEW DAY TO REPLACE FRIDAY THE 13th.
The Assignment: Pick a day that was your most unlucky day, and give us a paragraph arguing why we should use your day, and replace Friday the 13th. Or, alternatively, pick a day that has been the most lucky day for you. Okay, put those thinking hats and creative brains to work, and show us the results.
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My unluckiest day could have been the one when I spun my Saturn out on the 110 and got T-boned, totaling the vehicle, and throwing me about inside like a rag doll. I don’t think the air bags went off. But I had my belt on and didn’t get a bruise or whiplash or anything. Got checked out at Kaiser, just to be safe, and they found nothing. Not very unlucky, except losing the Saturn, which I loved. It had 190,000 miles on it, so maybe that was lucky, too.
I can’t think of another “unlucky” day without looking through my records. I don’t keep dark anniversaries, as a rule. It was 50 years before I thought to look up the day my dad died, August 22nd. My mother died on a May 22nd, 40 years later. Both died on a Wednesday. But I had 16 great August 22nds with my father and 56 mostly good May 22nds with my mother, so I really have nothing against either day.
Speaking of mothers, my mom lived to be 97 years 320 days old. My mother-in-law died nine years later, at the exact same age, to the day. Very synchronous, eh?
That day of the spinning Saturn on 110 sounds both unlucky and lucky. I’m glad you weren’t injured. Those Wednesday 22nds were certainly sad days for your family. Maybe those are days you should take extra caution.
Thanks for sharing, J. I hope the New Year contains no bad/sad days for you.
Loved all three of my Saturns. 160,000, 192,000, and 220,000 respectively.
The four of us each had a Saturn at the same time. Mine was the last to go. I still miss the little half-door behind the driver and occasionally reach to open it when it’s not there anymore.
Yikes. I have similar story. My husband and I were driving to the airport in a rental car, leisurely pace around noon on a beautiful clear fall day. We were driving through the Blueridge Mountains. I felt sleepy and drifted off. Second later, awakened by jarring over rocky terrain and staring at a huge oncoming tree. I had no airbag but the seatbelt kept me from going thru the windshield. After we realized we were both okay, my husband told me the last thing he remembered was that he was going to ask me to drive because he felt sleepy. A car behind us saw us go off the road and the driver, a nurse, helped us climb back up. An ambulance was called because I had broken ribs. That was our only bad injury. So yeah, that was unlucky. But it might have been our luckiest day — if the car had veered left instead of right, we would have plunged off a cliff.
We went to hospital in Ashville and they discharged me in time to make our flight home. It was only much later that we realized the car probably had carbon monoxide leak. We should have sued. Hell, we were alive. That was enough. I still can’t drive along hilly roads without breaking out in a sweat.
Great story, Kris. And Yeah! you were able to leave a comment this morning. I feel the same. Although my cable internet went out for awhile this morning. Fortunately it came back on within about half an hour.
I once witnessed a similar crash near Gatlinburg, TN. A car went over a steep embankment and slammed into some trees. The results were not as good as yours. You were fortunate in your misfortune.
Hope your day is full of good fortune!
I think 11/11. Many people use 11:11 as a “god wink” time. But 11:11 was my sons time of death and my moms time of death 8 years later.
Thanks, Jane, for participating this morning. I had to look up 11:11 and “god wink.” I hadn’t heard of that before. I’m sorry for your losses.
I threw this post together quickly, not thinking through the sorrow that it could renew for some readers. I feel the need to apologize if I have done that for you.
Thanks for your participation here at TKZ. I promise to make future posts more lighthearted. I hope today is a good day for you.
From a purely personal, maybe selfish standpoint, it would have been Feb. 23rd last year when mechanical issues with our flight meant we had to cancel our trip to Antarctica. Otherwise, my life seems to plod along in a steady, boring fashion. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing … I haven’t decided.
Good choice for an unhappy date. I know you missed an opportunity to learn more about photography on that trip, but I can honestly say that you have one of the most “picture perfect” newsletters with lots of pictures and all beautifully coordinated. Maybe you don’t need any more photography lessons.
And, as for that plodding along in a steady, boring fashion, I would say that “boring” is good sometimes. After spending a day or weekend with grandchildren, I realize that I love them and wouldn’t trade them for anything, BUT boring is good, too. And a lot easier to clean up after.
Have a good, boring day!
Thanks, Steve. Glad you enjoy my newsletters.
Don’t tell me to stop taking photography lessons. I’ve got another official photo safari on the Danube to photograph Christmas markets in December. You’re never too “good” to stop learning.
I hope to be able to apply what I’ve learned on our trip to the Arctic (kind of a substitute for the Antarctic “failure”) in late spring this year. I believe the cruise company has an onboard photographer, so I expect to be utilizing their services.
Friday the 13th has never been unlucky for me. Actually some pretty good things have happened to me on it.
My oldest will be happy to tell you about Friday the 13th. March 13, 2020. The last day she attended high school, in person. On 3/13/2020 the prom was cancelled. Graduation was cancelled. Two spring trips, cancelled. Summer in Israel, cancelled. College started with COVID tests, the first of the more than 40 she has had in the next 24 months. She is not a fan of Friday the 13th.
Friday the 13th has always been lucky for me, too, Alan. 🙂
I’m glad Friday the 13th has been good for you, Alan. We should ask your daughter for an alternate day for a good day!
Sorry for my slow response. On top of the technical problems we’ve been having here at TKZ, my cable internet went out this morning. Fortunately it came on about ten minutes ago.
Have a good, cancel-free day.
Being a person who doesn’t like to dwell on unlucky things, I’ll pick a few lucky dates.
November 23 _ I was born. What could be better than the gift of life?
March 14 – Frank and I were married. Now it’s over 50 years and we still like each other!
November 5 – Our son was born
There have been lots of other lucky days. I like to think of them as blessings.
Good days and dates, Kay. You’re an upbeat positive person. Good for you.
I apologize for the slow response to your comment. On top of the technical problems we’ve been having here at TKZ, my cable internet went off this morning. Just came back on.
So, here’s to technical problems being solved and corrected!
Brian has been doing a great job!
This may sound strange, but I’ve confirmed it with my family bible that dates back to the 1700s. Most of my family/ancestors died on December 3rd (different years, of course). Not sure what it is about that day, but apparently, it doesn’t mix well with my bloodline.
Good morning, Sue. And thanks for your interesting research and comment. That really is unusual or strange. December 3rd might be a good day to stay home and off the highways.
May your family history do a U-turn, and all your December 3rds be lucky days for you.
Sorry for the slow response. My cable internet went off this morning.
Friday the 13th is typically just another day for me, which these days, means a darn good one despite what life throws. As a library colleague used to say, Any day you can wake up on this side of the sod is a good one.
In general, my unlucky days are random, and I can’t recall too much “clumping” on a single date.
Aside: I have a Friday the 13th Fez which I’ll wear today while writing, which bears a nicely outlined “13” with a little bronze skull below the numerals. Perfect for writing mystery.
Good morning, Dale
I’m glad you are “still alive and kicking,” especially on a Friday the 13th. That fez sounds interesting. My father brought one back from Egypt after WWII. I’ll have to see if I can find it and wear it while I write. We’ve done a post on favorite hats. We need one on “putting on your writer’s hat.”
Hope your writing today is lucky and productive.
Sorry for the slow response to your comment. Internet problems on my end on top of Kill Zone technical problems.
To quote Matt Smith’s Doctor Who, “A fez is cool.”
No unlucky days, since I don’t really believe in luck anyway.
But I’ll call 11/7/87 my best day: it was the day I was working the counter at the local 7-11 store and my future husband walked in to get a snack.
We were married 2 1/2 months later and will celebrate 35 years together this month.
🙂
Congratulations, Deb. 11-7 at the 7-11. A great date to remember. And Happy Anniversary later this month.
Most unlucky day? It would be tough to pick a winner. I guess “unlucky” would be the wrong term for me because all of my “bad” days were self-inflicted. Luckiest day? That’s easy. April 1, 1991. It’s the day I stopped drinking.
Have a great weekend, Steve and Debbie!
Thanks, Joe
Yes, I should have written this post with the idea of picking our most lucky day. Congratulations on your decision and follow through. And may you have many more lucky days.
Thanks for commenting.
Have a great weekend!
No unlucky days, but January has always felt like an unlucky month. When I lived in St. Louis, January was generally cold, gray and dreary. It’s also the month my beloved grandmother died.
Thanks for sharing your comments, Elaine.
I definitely picked the wrong theme and mood for this post. Sorry to bring back unpleasant memories.
Living in western Ohio, I know what you mean about January – cold, gray and dreary. And, I would add, February is no better.
I hope you have a warm, sunny weekend.
I don’t know whether it was luck but there was a day when I said “I don’t need this relationship any more.” It was June 20, 1980 at about 4:30 in the afternoon- the day I quit smoking for good-and I have never fallen off the wagon. I went from a two pack a day smoker right down to nothing. My spouse followed suit two weeks later.
Of course, five years later, I rewarded myself with a new motorcycle and that turned out to be a very bad choice.
It’s lucky because we can breathe and the house and the car doesn’t smell like burning leaves all the time and our use of Windex to clean up the schmutz fell off drastically.
I like my lungs these days. The work pretty good.
A guy I worked with who had tried to quit many times didn’t believe me and challenged me-well, he called bulls**t on me- so I took one of his cigarettes, he lit it and I held it between my two fingers on my left hand until it burned down to the filter and went out as we stared at each other.
Congratulations, Robert. That’s wonderful. And 6/20/80 is indeed a memorable day for you.
Have a continued smoke-free 2023!
Friday the 13th is a good day for me. My daughter, my oldest nephew and my oldest niece were all born on a Friday the 13th. The times of their births, when the numbers are added up, all equal 13 too. 🙂
Thanks, Bridgit, for sharing your story. That’s impressive. With the cousins all sharing Friday the 13th, I can see why you wouldn’t pick another day. That could also make for some interesting birthday parties.
Have a triple lucky weekend.