As most of you know by now, I’m not the superstitious sort. I don’t believe in ghosts and goblins, omens, or the guiding hand of fate. Things don’t happen for a reason, outside of the reason we assign each happening thing. As such, Friday the 13^th is just another Friday – which doesn’t suck – and just another 13 on my calendar. I’m not scared of it a bit.

Personally, I’m a fan of the number 13. My Rams team won their first Super Bowl with #13 at quarterback. He’s now in the Hall of Fame. It’s a prime number, and those are always cool. Plus, it’s a happy number and if you understand anything about me by now you know I’m all about happy.

I understand the contempt of the number, though. So many things we’ve known are based on 12s. Breaking the wall of dozens can be scary. There are 12 months in a year. 12 ounces in a beer. 12 hours in a day. 12 in a night. Jesus reportedly had 12 disciples. There are 12 eggs in a carton. The greatest QB of all time wears #12.

So, it’s scary to break the barrier. I get that.  

But, when you think about it, there are benefits to breaking through. The baker’s dozen was invented, essentially, to get one extra something free. We all wish there was an extra hour in a day, right? There were 13 people hanging out in Jesus’ club, if you count Jesus himself. Everybody loves more beer. Nobody likes the GOAT.

But I do. I like ol’ #12, and I like the #13, as well. Need more reasons why? I’ll give you 13:

1. When we leave our childhood behind, for adolescence, we’re generally 13.
2. After 12 years of primary and secondary school, we graduate to our 13^th level of education.
3. The Italians love it. 13 is their lucky number, and who doesn’t love Italians?
4. Triskaidekaphilia is more fun to say than Triskaidekaphobia.
5. There were 13 original American colonies, and America generally doesn’t suck.
6. My favorite Antonio Banderas film is The 13^th Warrior.
7. Apollo 13 showcased Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise AND Ed Harris in some of their finest roles.
8. There are 52 weeks in a year, which means each quarter-year, or standard season, has 13 weeks.
9. The American flag still has 13 stripes on it.
10. There are 13 Archimedean solids. Archimedean solids is also fun to say.
11. “Once in a blue moon,” which denotes a generally fortunate but rare occurrence, gets its meaning from the rarish year when we are blessed with 13 moons instead of 12.
12. 13 is an odd number, and odd numbers are more powerful and wiser than even numbers.
13. My wife likes the number 13.

If I had time to extrapolate, I’d give you 13 more reasons why I like Fridays. But I don’t think I have to; you already like Fridays, for all the right reasons.

So Happy Friday the 13^th, my friends. Make this a day of celebration. Make every day a day of celebration, if you can.

It’s not like you get 13 tries at this thing. 😎

A variation of this post was published in 2016 or 2017 on the old blog site, 13 or so blue moons ago.