- pens
- children's books
- blank journals - lined or unlined, they're all good
- the kiddos' art masterpieces and school papers
- handbags (small, but growing - I do love a great bag!)
- dust bunnies (unintentional, but there are so many, I figure I should call them a collection)
With all these collections swirling around me, there is one - and only one - collection that seems to be saving me from certain disaster:
Yep, it's my frog collection - all 119 pieces of them. I've been collecting these mostly green lovelies since seventh grade. The bulk of them are right here in this case, but you can still find a few sprinkled in various places throughout my house. And there's about 20 or 30 more boxed up in the basement 'cause I ran out of places to set 'em out. (C put his foot down when I floated the idea of a dedicated "Frog Room.")
Well, as I said, it turns out my love of frogs is not only a source of personal enjoyment, but also a source of personal protection. Read on to find out why:
I was researching the origins of Friday the 13th, since this coming Friday marks the first Friday the 13th of the year. (Woo hoo! It's also Blame Someone Else Day - see my Wacky Holidays sidebar for details.) According to several websites - which I will list in tomorrow's post on this most unlucky day's origins - the fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears: fear of the number thirteen (triskaidekaphobia), and fear of Friday. It was while reading about the fear of the number 13 that I came across the following information from Corsinet.com - Trivia:
- More than 80% of high-rise buildings lack a 13th floor.
- Many airports skip the 13th gate.
- Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
- Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
- On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
- Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
- In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
- If you have thirteen letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck.
The devil's luck? Whoa! Morbidly curious, I counted the letters in my name: K-I-M-W-H-E-E... Oh, crud! And to make matters worse, I share this "devil's luck" with such pleasant company as Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, and Jeffrey Dahmer.
Lovely.
But what was this? The next entry on the page was on frogs. And it said, "A frog brings good luck to the house it enters."
Whoopie! Disaster averted, all thanks to my froggy home invasion. (Maybe now C will let me have that Frog Room...)
So come on back tomorrow, and I'll spill everything I learned about Friday the 13th. (And for you paraskevidekatriaphobics, I'll share a list of "rituals and cures" I found to protect you on the day you fear most...)
