Friday the 13th

Tomorrow isn't any normal Friday.

It just happens to be Friday the 13th.

BetUS.com came up with some stats to put the day in perspective.

The World to End: 1,000,000/1
You lose your job: 100/1
Your spouse leaves you: 500/1
You throw out your back: 250/1
You go bankrupt: 500/1
You get a flat tire: 50/1
You break your leg: 100/1
A bird will poop on you: 100/1
You will get sick: 50/1
You will get locked out of your house/apt: 50/1
Your car will get towed: 100/1
You will get a ticket (speeding, parking, etc.): 50/1
You will lose all your hair: 250/1
Your car will get stolen: 100/1
You will find money: 50/1
You will slip on banana peel: 100/1
You will win the lottery: 500/1

Is the day inherently unlucky? That's what I want to know.

Tell me your Friday the 13th stories. Tell me who you are so I can get in touch with you to make a cool video feature on your stories.

Here's what I've received so far:

I do not think Friday 13th is bad luck. I met my husband, Sandy, on Friday 13th on a blind date. He was about 45 minutes late, but we have now been
married 45 years. We feel that this was our lucky day.
Ann Cline

Yes, I think Friday the 13th's can be bad luck especially for me!

In 1969, my luck on a Friday the 13th went from uneventful to BAD. It was a cold, snowy night in my hometown of Roanoke, Virginia. I was 19 years old
and was out with my then boyfriend in my newly painted 1965 Volkswagen. Another words, my first real car, all mine and yes I was paying for it! He was driving and as he paused to go over some railroad tracks, we got bumped from behind. My car was damaged and then spend about 2 weeks in the repair shop.

Also on this same night, when I arrived home, before I could tell my father
about the car, he told me that he had been hunting for my dog. Hokie was a mixed breed from the pound given to me by my boyfriend, a Hokie from Virginia Tech. There was no leash law at thetime so he would frequently roam the neighborhood. He always came home. But not on this Friday the 13th. It was a little past midnight and my father said he had driven around the neighborhood, but Hokie was nowhere to be found. We both decided to go to bed and hoped that we would hear him during the night wanting in from the snow. The next morning, no Hokie. At that point my father and I drove to the pound and as I sat in the truck, I saw something I did not expect to see. My father returning to the truck with Hokie's collar in hand. He was told that a neighbor had called them when they heard gunshots and saw another neighbor shoot Hokie for eating his cats food which sat on the back porch. (There was a law about shooting a firearm in the city limits.)

The unfamiliar neighbor was fined for shooting the firearm and along with the SPCA, we took him to court for destroying private property. Hopefully, a lesson learned.

Several years passed along with several Friday the 13th's. The number 13 was a constant in my life. I married in 1970 and our first apartment number was 13. Then on August 10, 1971, I gave birth to a 6 weeks premature son. My parents were vacationing in Myrtle Beach, SC and were expected home in a couple of days. When they got the phone call about a new grandson, they cut their trip short and arrived home late on August 12th. On the morning of August 13th, after having a few brief moments to hold my son for the first time, and waiting on my parents to arrive to see him for their first time, the peditrician came into my room and said my son was not doing good and that they were running some tests. Young, alone and scared, I tried to reach my husband, then my parents and his to no avail. It seemed like hours and as I was walking into the hallway, I was met by the doctor who informed me that my son did not make it.

These 3 events have always remained as vivid as the days they happened. It is not something I talk about with anyone anymore. But the number 13 and the association with Fridays are not among my favorites. Who knows, maybe things will turn around and there will be something very good that happens to me or someone I know, on a Friday the 13th. Should I be so hopeful that it could happen if a few days? If you are optimistic, think about me on Friday!

Pat Blake