13

    • 9 posts
    February 25, 2012 9:12 AM PST

    Some say it's an unlucky number.  Some say the opposite.  All I know, is it's the number of days until BIKE WEEK, and I'm still bike-less.  DAGNABBIT!  But since I'm pretty sure, none of Ya'll wants to here me whine for the third straight DBW rally, I'm just gonna ask for some feedback on triscadecaphobia.  Any of Ya'll got an unusual (or usual, depending on where ya hale from) story, regarding the number 13.  Day or date. Number on a roulette wheel...whatever.  I can tell you that for me, it's always been unlucky.  To the point where, I won't ride on a friday the 13th, and I won't even consider using that date as an anniversary...of any kind.  I won't go into detail on this.  Suffice it to say, it ain't been good to me, but I don't want to throw my "chee" onto anybody else.  I would like to hear your stories, tho.  So, c'mon...pony up. 

    Ride Free
    Tweek

  • February 25, 2012 9:54 AM PST
    Well, it's not a 13 story, but for a while there it seemed like every time I'd look at a clock, it was 11:11. It got kind of creepy, truth be told.
  • February 25, 2012 10:24 AM PST
    Sorta always liked "13".... (any ol timers out there knowin what I'm talkin about?)
    • 1855 posts
    February 25, 2012 12:04 PM PST
    Wooly wrote...
    Sorta always liked "13".... (any ol timers out there knowin what I'm talkin about?)

      Yeah buddieeeeeeeeeeee
    • 1855 posts
    February 25, 2012 12:05 PM PST
    The only superstitious thing for me is to never buy a bike that has been wrecked/salvage title and all that.

    Peace
    • 5420 posts
    February 25, 2012 12:14 PM PST
    I think Jägermeister is bad luck. The more of it I drink, the more bad thinks happen!
    • 1161 posts
    February 25, 2012 12:15 PM PST
    Well I always kind of liked the number 13 because 1. My name starts with the 13th letter in the alphabet like the word Motorcycles. 2. The number 13 always creeped out or scared the parinoied cagers and they left me alone. 3. Most people stay one on Friday the 13th and left me free to ride then compaired to other Fridays.

    My lucky number has been 7(7) it was also my weapon rack number in the army.
    • 3006 posts
    February 25, 2012 12:17 PM PST
    In some parts of europe 13 is considered a lucky number,I guess it is up to the individual.Personally I try to avoid relying on supersitition of any kind.In any shape or form.Feel like it is a sign of weakness on my part to give it any credence,been riding my VTX1300 for years & the bike has been a blessing !!!
  • February 25, 2012 12:19 PM PST
    nope its a number and just a day, stuff happens good and bad its what we decide to do that counts. have a great one! "T"
    • 823 posts
    February 25, 2012 1:41 PM PST
    Jimmyacorn wrote...
    Wooly wrote...
    Sorta always liked "13".... (any ol timers out there knowin what I'm talkin about?)

      Yeah buddieeeeeeeeeeee



    That's what i was thinking when I saw this post, lol 

    • Moderator
    • 19067 posts
    February 26, 2012 12:46 AM PST
    I'm with T on this one. Numbers are just numbers, it is your attitude that decides.
  • February 26, 2012 3:20 AM PST
    Tumbles n Rex....I'm with ya....I aint got no superstitions n aint never had none neither...No insult intended here ya'll who read this
    But for me....superstitions are for the weak n unsure...I aint judgin anybody never will.....

    Life is what you make it...it can be positive or negative...I mean hell sometimes it is negative but the trick to disabeling the negatives is
    to interject the positive opposite to the negative when it raises its ugly head...ight?

    OK that be enough E.D.G.E for today....

    Ice Bear...Battle Well...

    PS...E.D.G.E = Education for Development, Growth and Effectivness
    • 9 posts
    February 26, 2012 4:22 AM PST

    Ok, since it went there...I'll tell ya why I have a "phobia" , specifically of the date.  I was an eighteen year old kid, workin' my first "real" job, other than flippin' burgers.  I worked in a day care center.  After working there for about six months, they "promoted" me to bus driver.  Well, back in those dayz, as someone mentioned, I smoked a lot of "13".  My husband I went thru a fair amount, a week.  A "30" , most weeks.  Well, one morning, I got up with a terrible migraine (I have been plagued with them since childhood), and I didn't want to call off of work, cause we needed the money.  It was 2 hours before I had to drive, and I figured it'd be ok.  It took the headache away, and off I went.  This was February 13, 1978, and coincidentally, a friday.  My first stop, were twin 2 year old girls.  Adorable, and talkative.  As you know, back in those days, school buses (even the short ones) did not have seat belts.  We were headed to our next stop, on a fairly busy thorough-fare, when all of sudden the car in front of me just stopped.  NO brake lights, no warning, just stopped.  And I was doing 35.  I slammed on the brakes, and checked the mirrors to see if I could veer, but I couldn't, so I hollered to the kids to hold on, and BAM!  Right into the back of this car.  I hit him hard enough, to push him into oncoming traffic, where he eventually smacked into a City bus, full of people!  My first concern was for the twins.  When I turned to see what happened to them, I was shocked.  There was blood everywhere!  It ended up that one's teeth, went into the other one's forehead.  A big cut for one, and knocked out teeth for the other.  Now, let me tell you, that the police, did a thorough investigation of the crash, and I was totally exhonerated of any liability. And that no one else was seriously hurt.  But the fact that I had smoked that morning, played HEAVY on my mind.  And I didn't exactly "volunteer" that information to the cops.  I quit that job the same day, and I quit smokin' "13" that day too.  Cause every single time I "tried" to smoke after that...I got sick.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, SICK.  Some would say that was some kind of "hysterical" reaction.  Or psycho-symatic symptomology.  But this is what I know...I couldn't look myself in the mirror, and ask for forgiveness, if I wasn't ready to repent.  Those twin girls still pop into my head, from time to time, and I'd love to apologize in person.  But I'll have to accept God's forgiveness.  Because of confidentiallity, I never was able to find them.  And call me weak-minded (obviously was) or stupid-stitious, (you betcha), but out of respect, I don't ride on the 13th.  Try not to drive, either.  I'll catch a ride, thanks. 

    Ride Free  TWEEK

    P.S. Jaggermeister was never very "lucky" for me, either...lol  Woof!

    • 113 posts
    February 26, 2012 3:46 PM PST
    Tweek, Lucky or Not I was born on the 13th, It was probably a Friday that day too.
    • 580 posts
    February 28, 2012 10:26 AM PST
    wolfpack wrote...
    Well, it's not a 13 story, but for a while there it seemed like every time I'd look at a clock, it was 11:11. It got kind of creepy, truth be told.

    spooky Wolfpack - there was a time a few years back when I looked at the clock most nights at that exact time.  Now I have this habit of winking when I see it - not that I'm superstitious but because I think of it as an old TIME friend
    • 580 posts
    February 28, 2012 10:31 AM PST
    I got married on the 13th but unfortunately it didn't last more than 13 years.. But other than that I'm with Mike it's a number that can be associated with anything good or bad - as with other numbers like 11 or 7.

    However, Tweek, if you feel so bad about it then you're right not to push the riding or driving - sooo much better to be safe than sorry. Hugs x
    • 1780 posts
    February 29, 2012 1:22 AM PST
    I use to hate to drive over a black cats path, so once I tried to avoid it and ran into a pole.
    • 611 posts
    March 1, 2012 6:52 PM PST
    Here's a few 'Good 13's'...
    Several successful sports figures have worn the number 13. Park Ji-Sung, South-Korean footballer and midfielder for Manchester United. Ozzie Guillén, manager of the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox, has worn the number throughout his baseball career. Alex Rodriguez began wearing it upon joining the New York Yankees (three, the number he had previously worn, is retired by the Bronx Bombers to honor Babe Ruth). Dan Marino, an American football player known for passing the 3rd most yards in NFL history, wore the number 13. Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain wore the number 13 on his jersey throughout his NBA career. Also, FIBA rules require a player to wear the number in international competitions (only numbers from 4 to 15 could be worn, and as there are 12 players, one must wear 13); Chris Mullin, who wore No. 20 in college and No. 17 in the NBA, wore No. 13 for both (1984 and 1992) of his Olympic appearances. Shaquille O'Neal wore No. 13 in 1996; Tim Duncan wore No. 13 in 2004. Steve Nash is currently wearing it for the Phoenix Suns. Yao Ming wore it in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Mats Sundin, Pavel Datsyuk, Bill Guerin, and Michael Cammalleri wear 13 in the NHL. One of Iceland's all time best handball players, Sigurður Sveinsson, wore the number 13 when he played for the national team. In association football, both Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack have favoured the number 13, among others.
    In Italy, 13 is also considered to be a lucky number, although in Campania the expression 'tredici' (meaning 13) is said when one considers their luck to have turned for the worse. Some people even have 13 tattooed onto them to represent the lucky number.
    • 611 posts
    March 1, 2012 7:57 PM PST
    And.... Some unlucky info!

    The number 13 is considered to be an unlucky number in some countries. The end of the Mayan calendar's 13th Baktun is superstitiously feared as a harbinger of the apocalyptic 2012 phenomenon. Fear of the number 13 has a specifically recognized phobia, Triskaidekaphobia, a word which was coined in 1911. The superstitious sufferers of triskaidekaphobia try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from anything numbered or labelled thirteen. As a result, companies and manufacturers use another way of numbering or labeling to avoid the number, with hotels and tall buildings being conspicuous examples (Thirteenth floor). It's also considered to be unlucky to have thirteen guests at a table. Friday the 13th has been considered the unluckiest day of the month.

    There are a number of theories behind the cause of the association between thirteen and bad luck, but none of them have been accepted as likely. The number 13, especially Friday the 13th, has long been considered lucky in Judaism, and some think that the general population's fear of 13 stems from anti-semitism.

    And ya can't talk about 13 without:
    13 turns make a traditional hangman's noose. Anything less would not snap a neck. 


    There ya go Tweek!
    Coupla shots for ya too!



  • March 2, 2012 1:33 AM PST
    back in 2006 I helped the Idaho Combat Vets Association state their chapter and when I called the National Commander and told him it official I asked him what chapter number they would be and when I told them he told me 13 they were dancin in the streets like it was the best thing that ever happened to them! http://www.cvmaidaho.org/
  • March 2, 2012 5:39 AM PST
    Tweek wrote...

    Ok, since it went there...I'll tell ya why I have a "phobia" , specifically of the date.  I was an eighteen year old kid, workin' my first "real" job, other than flippin' burgers.  I worked in a day care center.  After working there for about six months, they "promoted" me to bus driver.  Well, back in those dayz, as someone mentioned, I smoked a lot of "13".  My husband I went thru a fair amount, a week.  A "30" , most weeks.  Well, one morning, I got up with a terrible migraine (I have been plagued with them since childhood), and I didn't want to call off of work, cause we needed the money.  It was 2 hours before I had to drive, and I figured it'd be ok.  It took the headache away, and off I went.  This was February 13, 1978, and coincidentally, a friday.  My first stop, were twin 2 year old girls.  Adorable, and talkative.  As you know, back in those days, school buses (even the short ones) did not have seat belts.  We were headed to our next stop, on a fairly busy thorough-fare, when all of sudden the car in front of me just stopped.  NO brake lights, no warning, just stopped.  And I was doing 35.  I slammed on the brakes, and checked the mirrors to see if I could veer, but I couldn't, so I hollered to the kids to hold on, and BAM!  Right into the back of this car.  I hit him hard enough, to push him into oncoming traffic, where he eventually smacked into a City bus, full of people!  My first concern was for the twins.  When I turned to see what happened to them, I was shocked.  There was blood everywhere!  It ended up that one's teeth, went into the other one's forehead.  A big cut for one, and knocked out teeth for the other.  Now, let me tell you, that the police, did a thorough investigation of the crash, and I was totally exhonerated of any liability. And that no one else was seriously hurt.  But the fact that I had smoked that morning, played HEAVY on my mind.  And I didn't exactly "volunteer" that information to the cops.  I quit that job the same day, and I quit smokin' "13" that day too.  Cause every single time I "tried" to smoke after that...I got sick.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, SICK.  Some would say that was some kind of "hysterical" reaction.  Or psycho-symatic symptomology.  But this is what I know...I couldn't look myself in the mirror, and ask for forgiveness, if I wasn't ready to repent.  Those twin girls still pop into my head, from time to time, and I'd love to apologize in person.  But I'll have to accept God's forgiveness.  Because of confidentiallity, I never was able to find them.  And call me weak-minded (obviously was) or stupid-stitious, (you betcha), but out of respect, I don't ride on the 13th.  Try not to drive, either.  I'll catch a ride, thanks. 

    Ride Free  TWEEK

    P.S. Jaggermeister was never very "lucky" for me, either...lol  Woof!

    THanks for the splaynation my friend...I understand n like I said I will not judge...if it makes you feel better
    then stick to in n on days that are not unlucky for you?....THRIVE..
    Love Ya
    Ice Bear...Battle Well..