Are you superstitious? Someone asked me this the other day and I had to ponder the point. I don’t think I am, but when I started asking the same question of others, I was really surprised by the answers. It seems like most everyone I know has some hinky little ritual they do to bring luck their way or keep out the bad spirits. I got so interested in the subject, I did some studying to try to understand the whole deal about superstitions and lucky charms. Fascinating stuff, I can assure you. Listen up... I think you will be very entertained.
First of all, so I don’t disappoint anyone out there, let’s talk about me. My only brush with good luck coming my way happened last year in Seattle. My sister and I were walking down the street near the ocean happily chatting and window shopping. All of a sudden, a huge mega-ball of bird poop hit my shoulder and exploded down both my front and back. My sweet sister, always my protectorate, pulled anything that resembled a tissue out of her purse and started the massive clean-up. I didn’t get excited, I just looked the other way while she dabbed and swiped at the huge mess on my blouse. I don’t know what kind of bird did the damage, but guessing by the size and trajectory of the deposit, it had to be a cross between a seagull and a 747. Sister did all she could and we continued the short walk back to our hotel so I could shower and burn my clothes. A man who had witnessed the whole episode approached us just to let me know that what happened to me was considered very good luck. I didn’t win the lottery or become internationally famous after that experience, so I am not a believer.
Sports people are very superstitious. For example, Tiger Woods always wears the color red on the last day of a tournament because in his mother’s Thai culture, red is a lucky color. Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls shorts in all his professional games for luck. Tennis star Serena Williams reportedly bounces the ball exactly 5 times before serving. Actually, the sports world in general has a truck load of rituals and beliefs to keep out negativity. Here’s a quick list for my sports enthusiasts:
Baseball: Spitting into your hand before picking up the bat is said to bring good luck. Lending a bat to a fellow player is a serious jinx.
Basketball: It is believed that the last person to shoot a basket during the warm-up will have a good game. Bouncing the ball before taking a foul shot is considered lucky.
Football: It is considered bad luck to take a new number if a professional football player is traded. Double numbers on a uniform are said to be super lucky.
Golf: It is considered unlucky to start the game with an even numbered club. Using a ball with a number higher than 4 is said to be bad luck.
Tennis: Wearing the color yellow on the court is very unlucky. It is bad luck to hold more than two balls at a time when serving. No comment.
Fishing: It is believed that if you spit on your bait before casting it will give you fishing luck. Here’s my favorite... Fish may not bite if a barefoot woman passes you when you are fishing. If she breaks into a run, she probably saw you spitting on your bait. Yuck!
And how about those celebrities? Heidi Klum carries a bag of her baby teeth to keep her safe. Cate Blanchett has her elf ears from Lord of the Rings mounted and displayed on her mantel. She considers them to be very lucky in her career. Television personality Star Jones never puts her purse on the floor because she believes it will cause her to never have money. Hold on, I need to pick up my purse from under my desk. Ok, let’s continue. It is reported that Jennifer Aniston always steps onto an aircraft with her right foot first and then simultaneously taps on the outside of the plane for good luck. Rocker Axl Rose will not do a concert in any city that begins with the letter “M” because he feels that those places are cursed. I read recently that ticket sales for the last Guns ‘n Roses tour were not as good as expected so maybe he added some letters.
Superstitions have been around since the beginning of time and many of them have become things we do naturally. People long ago believed that putting your hand over your mouth when you sneezed kept the devil from entering your body. In case you haven’t heard, the new sneeze etiquette is to turn your head and sneeze into your upper arm. That’s fine, but where does the devil end up? Please write to me if you know.
Do you know why the wedding veil was created? Back in ancient Rome it was devised to mask the identity of the bride on her wedding day and protect her from evil spirits that are jealous of her happiness. Rosemary has been used for centuries to keep witches away. Does it work on bitches, too? Again, let me know.
And let’s not even talk about the number 13. Are you aware that more than 80% of high rise buildings in the US have no 13th floor? Airliners have no row 13 and hospitals have no room 13. Crazy, huh?
If you look up superstitions, you will be amazed and amused what people find to be lucky and unlucky. This craziness has been going on for hundreds of years and it’s getting worse. If you memorized every one of the myths floating around to keep you lucky and uncursed, you would have to have a memory like a computer and you would be afraid of everything. What if you were superstitious, practiced Feng Shui and were respectful of when the planets were in Mercury Retrograde all at the same time? You could drive yourself crazy. Life has enough stress without all this foolishness. Stuff happens the way it’s supposed to and you can’t really change it by hanging garlic around your neck or kissing a frog. I can tell you the frog kissing thing is bunk. No princes at my front door this week.
Here’s wishing you all a lovely fall weekend, my precious readers. I love this time of year and I have a weekend planned that should be quite exciting. Fingers crossed!
This one's for you, Clover.
