Friday the 13th... of September

 

Happy Friday the 13th, Y'all!

This week has been pretty scary.

On 9/10, we were assaulted by a presidential candidate debate that's biggest takeaways depending on your chosen side were either the earrings and number of lies she told, or the concept of plans, and immigrants in Springfield, OH eating cats and dogs spoken of by the other guy.

On 9/11, those of us that were alive remembered all of the people lost.

What a way to finish the week; with a Friday the 13th.

Whether today's date means Jason is going to get you (is anyone really still at camp?), or that the Templars were wiped out by Pope Clement V (he was just mad that they had more money and respect than he did) or if it's just a day that you keep an eye out for black cats and expect ugliness from the Universe; we all get some sort of mental imagery when we hear Friday the 13th.

My favorite Friday the 13th current trend is that it's a day to bring out your Halloween-best despite the month. A day that people in love with creepy can celebrate no matter what the calendar says, as long as it says Friday the 13th.

It's become a mini homage to the flip-side of life; the unseen and unexplained, draped in black and sometimes purple and orange.

But I don't think the Halloween loving F-13 people have pushed hard enough for their bonus holidays! 

In New Jersey when I was growing up, the day before Halloween was Mischief Night. That was when the older neighborhood kids that had grown out of trick-or-treating would TP, soap, and egg properties of unsuspecting people.

In our neighborhood it was always the mean neighbors that got that treatment and sometimes a yard or two that had the right tree placement in their yards to create an amazing display of TP art that would make Jenny Holzer proud.

Regardless, we would wake up Halloween morning with joy at wearing costumes and getting buckets of candy, but with an additional excitement of finding out what homes were the targets of Mischief Night perpetrators.

Back then, it was meant as either a joke or a community revenge that was accepted.

Now, I'm sure the tradition has died out due to damages to the homeowners and the newly found respect for toilet paper that Covid caused.

However, I say we bring back the spirit of Mischief Night for all the Halloween lovers that celebrate Friday the 13th's throughout the year.

Do you have a cantankerous office co-worker? On Friday the 13th, hide their pens and highlighters. Maybe unplug the handset from their desk phone or disconnect their computer from the office printer if you have time.

Do you have a know-it-all foreman? Hide his bullhorn or walkie-talkie. Slide his iPad under the seat of his work truck.

Do you work in a tool cage? On Friday the 13th only give out the right gloves to the buttheads.

A cashier? Intentionally mess up the mean customer's order and have to start over or take additional time (do it with a huge smile to really set their irritation level to high).

Work in a drive-thru? Make sure to forget the straws and napkins on the rude customers' orders.

Every mechanic knows the best revenge is hiding someone's 10MM socket.

Friday the 13th should be a day that mean-spirited, cranky curmudgeons everywhere get little harmless come-uppances and irritations that mirror the yuck they put into our world every day.

That way, we can get back some of the joy they steal from our respective worlds, and make Friday the 13th something to really look forward to. Besides, if all of the meanies were aware of F-13 retaliations, maybe they wouldn't be so obvious in spreading their ick.

Just a thought.

Happy Friday the 13th!