The morning got warm quickly, too warm for my second cup of coffee so I turned the AC on. The weather report says the temperature will rise as the day gets older. I guess I’m beating the heat to the punch.

My neighbors across the street have central air and use it often, but I think it has more to do with their Katy bar the door mentality than the heat. I was chatting with them the other day, and they mentioned they put the air at 80˚ when they go out so as not to waste electricity, and they keep it at 78˚ when they’re home. They said that was chilly enough for them. I guess the older you get, the less you can tolerate the cold. I suppose I could look forward to that.

Today is Friday the 13th which means absolutely nothing to me. I am not superstitious. I even tempt fate by walking under ladders. Spilled salt is a mess to be cleaned up, and that’s all. I have a black cat, and our paths cross frequently. I looked it up and fear of the day is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. Had I been asked the meaning before now, I would have concentrated on the beginning and guessed something to do with fear of foul language.

When we were kids, we had all sorts of superstitions. Step on a crack and break your mother’s back was one of them. None of us ever stepped on a crack. We didn’t want to tempt fate. When we walked the railroad tracks, we jumped over the ties with double zeros. I don’t remember exactly why, but I do remember there was a dread associated with stepping on those zeros. I never opened an umbrella inside the house simply because it was bad luck, and I was into preventative measures back then. A broken mirror was cause for horror and too many years of bad luck to contemplate.

Today will be the same as every other day. Sometimes life is difficult, but we all accept that. What we don’t need is adding wariness so ignore the dog howling, pick up that coin even if it’s tails up and go ahead and wash that car. Maybe I’ll watch Friday the 13th part 80!