Happy Friday the 13th!
I suspect we are all more superstitious than we want to admit. I don’t like to switch positions on the sofa when my team is playing well on television, which just makes tons of sense. But, come on, because a particular numbered day falls on a Friday bad things are expected to occur? That seems a bit illogical.
So I consulted my friend, Google, and searched “good things that happened on Friday the 13th” for proof that all this is silliness. This returned several lists that shared the following highlights:
- Ben Franklin said “nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” (1789)
- The accordion was patented. (1854)
- Alfred Hitchcock was born. (1899)
- Black Sabbath released their first album. (1970)
Um. Those are the highlights? Maybe I should stay indoors today.
It didn’t help to learn that some really bad things have happened on Friday the 13th.
- The collapse of the Aztec Empire. (1521)
- The first of seventy-six consecutive nights that Germany bombed London. (1940)
- An oxygen tank exploded on Apollo 13. (1970)
- Tupac was pronounced dead. (1996)
I’m not feeling better.
And coincidentally (?) law school grades are released to our first-year students today. This will be a particularly good day for several of our students, but experts in mathematics informed me that 90% of the students will not be in the top 10% of the class (I double-checked their math to be sure of this). More disappointment than elation on the way.
So what to do today? Well, I have to go to work. But beyond that, I have a carefully designed plan of attack:
- Face the world head-on;
- Bob and weave; and
- Dive into the fray singing the classic song from our Malibu neighbor, Pat Benatar: “Hit me with your best shot!”
When I go down, misfortune will at least be worn out from the fight.
Starting to Look Up 