How lucky do I feel, on Friday the 13th?

Friday the 13th is just a couple of minutes away and already I’m crossing myself and doing other little quirky rituals to ward off the bad spirits.
It’s not that I’m very superstitious; I mean, I do believe in karma, and that there’s another side of nature that we don’t see or understand. But I routinely step on sidewalk cracks, I’ve opened up an umbrella inside (by mistake) and I don’t dive out of the way if a black cat happens to mosey on by. And, I’ve broken a mirror or two in my time.
Just not on Friday the 13th.
The rules change on this unlucky day, and I think they change for everyone. A sense of foreboding has settled in amongst my friends, who I consider to be rational, intelligent people. A rash of stories from Fridays the 13th past is circulating, people that have gotten into car accidents or lost money; one even had his shed burn down.
Of course, you can chock these things up to coincidence. And there are those that swear there’s no such thing as coincidence. Everything happens for a reason.
My Tarpon Springs friend Tsambika, my authority on all things Greek, follows a whole other set of superstitions daily. It’s just the way she was brought up. Like the “mahti” she wears, a little blue eye set in different pieces of jewelry that is supposed to ward off any hexes others might put on you. She gave me one on a little pin; I know that doesn’t make me an honorary Greek but I wear it when I’m feeling the heebie-jeebies just the same.
Of course, none of these things are based on reason or even empirical knowledge. A lot of it comes from culture and religious beliefs, and have somehow weaved their way into our reality, where they transcend mere superstition and simply become rules. How many of us won’t walk underneath a ladder? I know I’ve caught my husband throwing salt over his shoulder if he knocked over the shaker.
Whether or not you want to write it off as quirky nonsense or quaint tradition, I will certainly be watching my p’s and q’s until the 14th. And I’ll have on my mahti for an extra dose of good luck.