Friday, April 13, 2018
Friday The 13th
I am fascinated by superstitions. I sort of collect them for my own amusement.
My family has a Friday the 13th superstition all our own. My mother had a terrible (but funny) day and we never let her live it down. Let me tell you all about it.
My aunt and uncles went to school in a one room schoolhouse in the country. On the last day of school there was a picnic and we always went. The more the merrier, you know. This year it was held on Friday, the 13th.
We set out for the picnic with Mom at the wheel. Daddy had to work. Mom was running late as usual so she was driving a bit faster than she should have. She came to the top of a hill and saw the police car at the bottom. Instead of slowing down she panicked and stopped. When she restarted and drove down the hill she was pulled over. Luckily the cop recognized the car. Daddy was the town marshal and worked with the state police on occasion. Mom received a warning to be more careful and we went on our way.
The car was low on gas so Mom pulled in to a station along the highway. In the 1950's the pumps often had big glass globes on the top with the name of the gasoline company on them. They were pretty. When Mom pulled in for gas she realized that she was too far away from the pump. She pulled forward a bit and then backed up a bit closer... whoops! a little too close.She bumped the pump. That beautiful glass globe began to wobble, wobble, wobble, wobble... it seemed to be slowing and coming to a stop. Whew. Then it just fell right off and smashed into millions of pieces.
The man at the station was very kind. Of course we did not have to pay for it; it happens all the time. (Right!) We got our 2 dollars worth of gas. That filled it up then. And we were off again.
We turned off the highway to the county road on the way to the picnic. We were merrily driving along and Mom missed the turn onto the next county road that led to the school. Not to worry... she just backed up so she would be in position to turn. Somehow we ended up in the ditch. Some of the ditches in Nebraska were like valleys. We were rear end down with the nose of the car pointing up. Now what was she to do?
Here we were with a car full of children sitting in a deep ditch with no chance she could drive it out. As luck would have it a neighboring farmer came by on his tractor. Mom waved him down and he of course was happy to help. He was so happy to help that he could not stop laughing as he hooked the chain up to the car and his tractor. Laughing as he had Mom steer the car while his tractor strained to pull us out of that ditch. He was so happy when we were completely clear of the ditch that he kept laughing. Mom had made him so happy that he was still laughing as he drove off.
Off we went again. Mom successfully made the turn. Believe it or not we made it safely to the picnic. Of course we were extremely late but there were still a few games left to be played. After that Friday, the 13th, was a day that we no longer let Mom drive. As a matter of fact we would not even let her in the car.
This is the way many superstitions start. Got any of your own?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Now, that was memorable!
ReplyDeleteIt is our family's favorite story.
DeleteLOL, I am quite sure she never lived that down. Have a good weekend Diane
ReplyDeleteI am sure she got tired of hearing about it but the yest of us never did.
DeleteHere's a piece of trivia for you. In Spanish-speaking countries (most of them, actually), it is Tuesday 13th that is feared. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
How interesting. I would ask why but I do not know why Friday the 13 is unlucky either.
DeleteThat’s funny. I’v Had days like that:)
ReplyDeleteMom was hilarious without knowing it. She had some strange experiences.
DeleteSuch driving is more often associated with women than with men, but I have no idea if the reputation is deserved. It does seem obvious to me that your mother had a problem with spatial orientation that was physical in nature and surely showed up in ways other than driving. No doubt some people got a good laugh over her being a ditzy woman.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was not ditzy. However you are right about spatial problems. She was later diagnosed with severe astigmatism. Glasses made a huge difference in her life. No doubt a car full of screaming kids did not help.
DeleteI didn't mean to say that your mother was ditzy, only to acknowledge that that would have been the prejudice. That said, there is a correlation between testosterone and the skills that are needed to operate heavy equipment, at least, with too much of it in a man being bad, but too little of it in a woman also being bad in regard to the skills needed.
DeleteName one piece of heavy equipment. I have probably operated it. Trucks of all sizes, cranes, hilos, front end loaders, airplanes... I could go on. My skills are fine.
DeleteWhich means that you're probably not deficient in testosterone. Surely it's a hormone that can lead to a whole lot of bad things, but it's like much of what's within our bodies in that it also has its good points.
DeleteSo are you a pilot then, and do you still fly? I used to own a Cessna 150, but only logged about 200 hours before Peggy and I moved, and I never took up flying again.
Oh my this is too much for one day!
ReplyDeleteI believe that your mom was already feeling nervous and this resulted in many incidents but glad you all were safe
She had a car full of 5 children under the age of 7 and she was running late. It would make the best of us susceptible to strange happenings.
Delete