A Very Fortunate Day

13 is a very unlucky number. Notice there is never a 13th floor at the hotel or an office building.

Friday the 13th is the unluckiest day of the year, and in most years it happens more than once.

This is the popular cultural belief of many Americans. I think 13 is a pretty good number. Take the $1 bill to prove it. Turn it over and look at the back. There are 13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum", 13 steps in the pyramid, 13 letters in Latin above the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle, 13 bars on the shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and even 13 arrows. Not to mention that America was built on 13 - the 13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and 13 stripes in our flag. I think 13 really works well, and Friday the 13th - well - here is the story of a very fortunate day...

I recently got a coupon for 'buy one get one free entree' at TGIFriday's. Sounded like a plan. So Jess (a very good friend) and I decided to go out to dinner. We both ordered steaks, thinking we would only end up paying for one. I like my steak medium, and Jess prefers it medium rare. As I cut into my steak, and the blood oozed on the plate, I cringed. Jess checked hers to find no pink, no blood, no sign that the meat was ever part of a live animal. With one undercooked and one very overcooked steak, we decided to send them back. As we waited for new steaks, the manager came to the table. "I heard your steaks were cooked improperly. I am very sorry, and I will bring them out as soon as they are finished. Those steaks will be free of charge tonight." And he walked away and came back shortly after with steaming hot steaks. We were flabbergasted. Two FREE steak dinners! No buying groceries, no cooking, no cleaning, no nothing. And the new steaks were much better.

We were feeling very good after dinner. With coupons in hand and a great sale, we headed to JoAnns - one of my favorite stores in the world, where I could while away the hours of my day quite easily. I was able to find the last two fabrics I needed for a quilt I am working on. Jess had to special order the last fabric she needed for her quilt. We had found the perfect fabric last week, but we waited for the sale. As the lady tried to find the special order, she got a puzzled look on her face. Talking with another clerk, they discussed the fact that this fabric must have been discontinued, there was no more in the factory, and no stores seemed to have more than a yard or two. We needed 8 yards of this fabric. On a last whim the one clerk headed to the back to see if there was any on the shelf... And there was - we were able to get all 8 yards of the perfect fabric to finish the quilt top.

As it was getting late, we headed to one last stop - the grocery store. Jess had found out about some really awesome deals. Through her frugality and money sense, I spent less than twenty dollars. That may not seem like much, until I add that the actual value of my groceries totalled $120.00!! I was stunned and thrilled at the savings and the incredible amount of groceries.

So you see, 13 can't be a bad number, and Friday the 13th seems to be a very fortunate day, if I do say so myself.