Today is Friday the 13th, a day full of fear for those who suffer from triskaidekaphobia, the irrational fear of the number 13, and an extremely  rare scrabble word. If that were not enough there is even a subset of quivering individuals who suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia, specifically the fear of Friday the Thirteenth.*

Personally, I have no issue with superstitions and I find it quaint that people will go out of their way to avoid certain activities or places because of these afflictions. Corporations even pander to this on occasion: how often do you see a room 13 or 1313, or even a floor 13 in some hotels? This of course makes no logical sense and is somewhat called into question when examining such superstitions across the globe. For example 13 in China is considered a lucky number! Go figure the logic…

One other superstition that always amuses me is that associated with the black cat. Again, in some cultures they are considered lucky whereas in others they are seen as harbingers of bad omens, to the extent that they have been persecuted historically.

As an owner (or adopter in modern parlance) of a black cat I offer up an antidote to all this superstition through this depiction of our own roaming feline. Some days are lucky with him, others not so.

Of course for most of the rodents he meets at night it is a very unlucky day indeed …

*pointless factoid – Friday the thirteenth can only occur in a month that starts on a Sunday.

~Richard