The number 13: The picture-perfect image of misfortune. We’ve all traveled those high-rise elevators, stayed in those hotels, or occupied the airline rows whose numerical sequences jump from twelve to fourteen. And, somehow, this odd way of calculating makes us feel better.

But couple the number 13 with a Friday, and it becomes the notorious day for bad luck. As many argue its origin, the fact of the matter is that people have feared this calendar combination for centuries.

Take my grandmother, for instance. She wouldn’t even acknowledge the 13^th day of the month if it happened to fall on a Friday, let alone leave the house and go grocery shopping. And if she did, the moment she stepped out her front door, I was sure a boulder the size of Texas would drop down and crush her flat. That, or simultaneous explosions of all the planets combined would explode the universe into a blaze of fiery pyrotechnics, blasting us all into oblivion. And I was certain even the little everyday tasks in the safe confines of one’s own home had the potential to get a little hairy. Why, one might risk losing a limb should they decide to chop vegetables for dinner. Or the daily shower could, very easily, become the scene of a fatal accident should a bar of soap produce a slippery and sudsy residue. Or, at least, those were the probable tragedies which I allowed my elementary school mind to believe.

Bottom line was that, according to my grandma, something catastrophic was bound to happen. And the best way to handle the 13^th day of the month, should it happen to fall on a Friday, was to draw the curtains (literally and metaphorically) and carefully and quietly wait for the day to pass.

And it wasn’t just Grandma. Triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number 13, and Paraskevidekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13^th, plague many. Studies have even shown there appears to be an economic impact that coincides with this superstitious day. Many people refuse to fly, shop, and even refrain from making important business decisions on this date, resulting in millions of dollars lost.  

On the flip side, traveling on Friday the 13^th could be a non-Paraskevidekatriaphobians’ lucky day! At one time, many airlines and resort hotels would drastically reduce prices in order to boost sales on this superstitious day. According to a few travel industry websites, flights still tend to run cheaper on Friday the 13ths.

 I personally have a fondness for the number 13, as it just so happened, I was born under the marked number. Yep, that’s me, the luck of the draw. And I, unlike my grandma, would have no problem hopping a jet today, or any other Friday the 13th on the calendar, if… the price was right. They say Hawaii is wonderful this time of year… Hey, I can dream, can’t I?