5 of 33

Write now Article Tools

When I was eighteen, I was in the process of learning how to drive. For the first time. This does not mean it was my first attempt at driving, but my learning how to drive did come in two stages with stage one being an unsuccessful short-lived attempt and stage two occurring last year, at age twenty-four, finally resulting in a license.

I had been learning how to drive for maybe a month or so at this stage, and had pretty much decided driving was scary and totally not something I was looking forward to. I had plans to meet my boyfriend at the time in the city and needed a lift to the train station. I'm not sure who's idea it was at the time, but somehow the plan arose for me to drive to the train station in my parents car, with my dad. The only person I had ever driven with previously had been a driving instructor, all of perhaps six times before this.

So the drive itself went relatively incident free, but you see it was Friday the 13th that day. We got to the car park of the train station and then for some unknown reason I decided instead of just stopping in the pickup and drop off bay, I would pull into a car park. Well it was my first attempt driving automatic too and maybe I was looking for a clutch or something but I drove right into the fence and managed to smash the front headlight and do a fair bit of damage to my parents front bumper. I may have driven a couple of times more after this but then I gave it in for a good several years.

My parents were not angry at all. In fact my mother blamed my father in a way. Apparently he was prone to accidents on Friday the 13th, including car accidents. This was all long before I was born but she suddenly believed his bad luck had carried on to me. However, is it really an unlucky day for my father? Depends on how you look at it.

Back in the year 1971 or somewhere close to it, it was Friday the 13th and my parents tied the knot. Not only were they choosing the unluckiest day possible to make this big commitment, my mother was also several months pregnant, making this the ultimate shotgun wedding.

With these two somewhat challenging factors occurring at the time of my parents wedding, you would assume 37 years later they would definitely not have survived the test of time. Well they did. They are still happily married and have not really had any bad luck as such on Friday the 13th that I am aware of.

Further proof this date can be a blessing, my sister gave birth on Friday the 13th a couple of years ago. And it was not just any Friday the 13th, but the anniversary of my parents wedding. Possibly one of the first occasions when their anniversary again occurred on that particular day of the week. And he is a healthy, happy little toddler.

I believe Friday the 13th is just a typical day. There is nothing lucky or unlucky about it. The things that go wrong on that day can go wrong on any day and things can go very well on that day as well. Friday the 13th is what you make it and for me, it is merely a set of films to provoke a bit of a scare or an occasion memorable by certain family events. Nothing sinister what so ever!

Learn more about this author, Holly Rogers.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Is Friday 13th really a day of bad luck??
We want to hear your view. Write now!