Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Do you have it today? The fear of Friday the 13? According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia. Three is the most Friday the 13th's a year can have and this is the third one in 2009. Every month that starts on a Sunday has a Friday the 13th. The longest period that can go without a Friday the 13th is fourteen months.

Are you going to take extra precautions today? I know at the least I am going to make extra sure I stop at red lights. Even if I am less then the third car I am stopping at that darn light. I may get rear ended but I am stopping. I am going to be extra nice to people. I am avoiding black cats. I'm not going to walk under ladders. If I am with someone I am going to walk on the same side of parking meters or poles as the person I am with. That is my idea of pole dancing. I am going to pick up a penny if I see it on the ground and recite that famous phrase, "find a penny, pick it up, the rest the day you will have good luck." The heck with germs.

According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a "Friday the 13th" superstition before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in an 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini. One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day. Another theory as the subject of "Origins" maintains that the superstition can be traced back to ancient myth. A third theory about the origin of the superstition traces the event to the arrest of the legendary Knights Templar. In some countries, instead of Friday, Tuesday the 13th is considered bad luck. Some natural events that happened on Friday the 13th: Hurricane Charley made landfall in south Florida on Friday, August 13, 2004. The "Friday the 13th Storm" struck Buffalo, New York on Friday, October 13, 2006. The asteroid 2004 MN4 will make its close encounter on Friday, April 13, 2029. The Andes Plane Crash of 1972 happened on Friday the 13th.

A normal day for you? Or are you going to be aware today? My advise is to be aware, be very aware. May this day bring you only good luck!

TODAY'S WHO AM I?

Yesterday's answer: Patsy Takemoto Mink


TODAY'S WHO AM 1?

I was born in 1905 and died of a stroke in 19995. I received my law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1925. Following college I married a former Gov. who was also the publisher of a Post. During World War II I headed the War Department's Women's Interest Section for a short time and then became the Director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. I achieved the rank of colonel and received the Distinguished Service Medal for efforts during the war. I was the first woman in the Army to receive this award. The golfing general who became president named me to his cabinet. I became the first secretary and the first woman to become the guiding force for the health and welfare of humans. I also took over for my husband and became Chairman Of The Board at the Post when he took ill. In addition to the Post job I cared for him. My son served as Lt. Gov of my home state. My daughter is married to a former ambassador. My grandson lost an election in my state to become its comptroller. A library is named after me at Central Texas College. A elementary school in a famous Fort recently in the news bears my name. A dormitory at A & M will remind you of me. Who Am 1?