A Most Unfortunate Day

Tomorrow, an estimated 20 to 67 million people will experience a fear so paralyzing, it may keep them from getting out of bed in the morning. They may refuse to travel, call in sick, or not complete business. They may experience anything from nervousness to panic attacks to even heart attacks. What is it that will cause such a large group of people to have such incapacitating experiences tomorrow? And what's so special about tomorrow, anyway?

Those tens of millions of people are suffering from paraskavedekatriaphobia: a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. 

Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th. This day/date combo can happen anywhere from 1-3 times per year. But take heart, paraskavedekatriaphobes, as you'll have somewhat of a reprieve this year. 2008 has only one Friday the 13th, and tomorrow is it. 

Friday the 13th is considered a day of bad luck in much of Western Europe, North America, and Australia. It is a superstition born of two separate fears: fear of the number 13 (covered yesterday), and fear of Friday. In the British tradition, Friday was the usual day for public hangings. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Adam and Eve supposedly ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday. Some theologians hold that the Great Flood and the confusion of the Tower of Babel both fell on Fridays.

So, to have the 13th day of the month fall on a Friday is some bad juju, indeed. The spectre of Friday the 13th is enough to cause otherwise rational people and even organizations to do seemingly irrational things to avoid it. The US Navy will not launch a ship on any Friday the 13th. Lloyd's of London, in the 1800's, refused to insure any ship sailing on a Friday the 13th. Some ocean liner captains will go to great lengths to delay a planned Friday the 13th launch until just after midnight, when it is technically Saturday the 14th.

People point to past disasters to support their fear/superstition: During the 18th century, the HMS Friday was launched on a Friday the 13th - and was never heard from again. The Black Friday bushfires in Victoria, Australia happened on Friday, January 13, 1939. Hurricane Charley hit near Port Charlotte, Florida on Friday, August 13, 2004. The plane carrying the Uruguayan Rugby team crashed in the Andes mountains on Friday, October 13, 1972.

And yet, there are still those who defy convention: Black Sabbath's debut album (you know, those big, round discs that came before cd's, that came before MP3 files) was released in the UK on Friday, February 13th, 1970. The thirteenth installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket, was released on Friday, October 13, 2006. The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan's latest flick, is set to release tomorrow, Friday, June 13, 2008. And, a remake of the original Friday the 13th movie is planned for release on Friday, February 13, 2009.

Some believe whole-heartedly that tomorrow is a bad, bad day. Others believe it's all a buncha hooey. I fit somewhere in the middle, I think. So, for all my fellow fence-sitters, and for all those who plan to pull the covers over their heads and not come out 'til the 14th, I found some interesting things that may help you get through the day tomorrow, courtesy of Brownielocks.com:

• Walk around your house 13 times on Friday the 13th.
• Hang your shoes out the window. (Really. That's what it said. No explanation. Just "Hang your shoes out the window." Perhaps it gasses out the bad juju?)
• Sleep with a mirror under your pillow for the first 3 Fridays before Friday the 13th. Then, on Friday the 13th, you have to dream of your true love. (Well, it's a little late now for this one. Just file it away for the next one coming up in February 2009. You could still try the dreaming part tomorrow, though. It could work...)
• Walk around the block with your mouth full of water. If you don't swallow it, you'll be 100% safe on Friday the 13th.
• Wear and/or eat garlic.

At best, these rituals will save you from bad luck. At worst, it will give your neighbors one more reason to talk about you. 

Good luck!

My sources:

Brownielocks.com

Wikipedia

About.com

How Stuff Works

Infoplease.com

Corsinet.com

Book Review: The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes

"Jane clanked her feet against the hollow hitching post. For the hundredth time she was thinking that the yellow house was the best house to be living in in the whole block because it was the only house from which you could see all the way to both corners. You could see every inch of the way down New Dollar Street to Elm Street, where the trolley ran. ...In the other direction you could see every inch of the way to Wood Street, along which the railroad tracks ran like a river."

Summary:

The Moffats was first published in 1941. It is a collection of stories about the Moffat family: Jane, Sylvie, Joe, Rufus, Mama and Catherine-the-Cat, who live in the beloved yellow house on New Dollar Street. Set in the fictional town of Cranbury, Connecticut, in the 1910's, the Moffats have many adventures, all while living under the uncertainty brought on by the sudden appearance of a "For Sale" sign nailed to the front of the yellow house. Pen and ink drawings throughout the book add an extra visual perspective to the story, giving an even clearer picture to draw the reader further into the action.

Readers will delight in being along for the ride as Jane and her siblings get into all manner of situations and shenanigans. There's the time Janey ran and hid inside the breadbox outside Mr. Brooney's store, fearful of being arrested for mimicking a most important citizen. Or, there's the time, on his very first day of school, that little Rufus hitched a ride on a freight train, all to convince a friend that school isn't such a bad place to be. Then there is the time all four Moffat children finally give neighborhood nemesis Peter Frost his well-deserved comeuppance, and Mama is none the wiser for their Halloween prank. And there's the time Rufus got Scarlet Fever, and the house was quarantined, and Mama regaled Rufus with stories from her childhood in New York City.

Times are difficult for the Moffats, as Mama is a widow raising four children, making ends meet as a seamstress. The author presents their situation honestly, and from the children's point of view, and always with a little smidgen of hope from Mama that things will turn out OK.

For Teachers and Librarians:

The Moffats offers children of today an intimate window into the life of kids in the early 1900's. A compare/contrast of life then and now could be easily done using things from the book like bicycle style, transportation, electricity use (the yellow house had no electricity), grocery shopping, clothing, school, or economic times, to name only a few. Activities surrounding what kids did for fun back then, how everyone in the household worked together, or how life then is also similar to life now for kids, too, would all be perfect things to spring to from reading this book. It is written to kids, from their point of view, so that even though their time periods are worlds apart from Janey, Sylvie, Joe and Rufus, your students will find much to relate to and enjoy reading about.

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:

Have your kids ever asked you what it was like when you were a kid? If they haven't, they'll start after reading this either with you or on their own. They will love the stories, and comparing the Moffat children's lives to their own. If your charges are reluctant readers, each chapter is a story in itself, so it is easy to break down into manageable chunks. Perhaps reading this book will even inspire you to share your own childhood stories with your kids - tell them all about it or write it down for them to enjoy many times over. Either way, they will truly love hearing or reading all about you!

For the Kids:

This book is a perfect kind of chapter book. It's written just the way a kid talks and thinks, so you'll have no problem getting into the story. Each chapter is its own small story, so you can read it straight through, or jump around a bit, and it will still make sense. The Moffat kids have lots of adventures in the yellow house they love so much, and it is fun to see the kinds of things kids did back in the 1910's, and compare it to the kinds of things you do right now. You may be surprised at how much is just like your life, and just as surprised at the things they do that you've never thought of before. Ask your grandparents or great-grandparents about what their life was like as a kid. It will be fun to see: was their life like the Moffats' lives?

For Everyone Else:

Though the book is written specifically for kids, history buffs can gain an interesting perspective of life in the early 1900's. History books are full of what happened back then, and what life was like in general, but reading about the kids' lives day in and day out in narrative fashion can show you things you'd maybe never realized before. Or it may bring back childhood memories of your own. You never know...

Wrapping Up:

The Moffats is a snapshot in time, a window into the life of kids and families in the early 20th century. You won't want to miss it.

Title: The Moffats

Author: Eleanor Estes

Illustrator: Louis Slobodkin

Pages: 224

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Publisher and Date: Odyssey Classics, April 2001

Edition: Paperback, Sixtieth Anniversary Edition

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $6.95

ISBN-10: 0152025413

ISBN-13: 978-0152025410