Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th has traditionally been a source of worry and concern if you were born into one of those societies that fears the implications of the day. Bad things happen on Friday the 13th, it’s that simple. Well this year, if you live in Florida, a bad thing did happen on Friday the 13th. Hurricane Charley didn’t follow the rules. It refused to obey storm modeling theory, gathered steam just before hitting the peninsula, turned right at the last minute, and hit the coast in a place it "wasn’t supposed to." There was massive devastation and "significant loss of life," although things are still too chaotic in the wake of the storm to evaluate the full extent of the devastation. Charley had already devastated other locales in the Caribbean before knocking on Florida’s door. Something else happened on Friday the 13th. Julia Child died. She was a wonderful person, with an eccentric speaking style and an endearing ability to make people feel that they too could be creative in the kitchen. Also on Friday the 13th, a former New Jersey state employee stepped forth and leveled sexual harassment accusations against the current governor. That governor only plans to be in office for a couple more months, however, because on August 12th he held a press conference and his wife’s hand, and announced to his constituency that a) he was gay, b) he’d been involved in an extramarital affair with a man, and c) he was going to resign as governor effective November 15th. Elsewhere on Friday the 13th, negotiations inched along for a resolution of the standoff in Najaf in Iraq. American and Iraqi governmental forces stood poised to "take" Najaf, which was being "held" by armed militias supporting cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Many were pessimistic at the chances for the negotiations to succeed. All of that notwithstanding, Friday the 13th also saw the opening of the Olympic Games in Athens. The spectacle was incredible. As stadium extravaganzas go, this was the best ever. It was particularly fascinating to see the North Korean and South Koreans entering the stadium as one team, hand-in-hand. **************************** If you’re still reading, you may be thinking that none of this is news because you already know all of this. Well, yeah. But think about it. Why was I able to follow Charley’s path as it raced across the Caribbean and slammed into Florida? Why am I so sure that Julia Child was a kindly person? Why did I know that the governor of New Jersey held a press conference on Thursday chock-full of human drama, and was accused of harassment on Friday? How did I know that American and Iraqi forces were involved in delicate negotiations in hopes of preventing further bloodshed in Najaf, and that hopes were slim that the negotiations would succeed? And why was I so sure that the spectacle in the stadium in Athens was stately and dreamlike? Was I in Florida? Did I know Julia Child? Do I know the governor of New Jersey, his wife, or his accuser? Have I ever been to Najaf? Did I have a ticket to the opening ceremonies in Athens? You think you know the answers to these questions, but do you? Meanwhile, it’s Saturday morning and I’m wrapping up this week’s issue of EDA Confidential. The phone just rang. It’s the contractor who’s remodeling our kitchen. He’s standing in the backyard and has a question about some debris removal. He’s not knocking at the front door or hailing me through a window - he’s standing in the backyard, talking on his cell phone. Come on. How jaded are you? Can you not step back for a minute and marvel at the technology that drives all of this - and the speed with which it’s morphing life as we know it? Because I was indeed in Florida yesterday - and out over the Caribbean for that matter - as I tracked Charley’s path. I did in fact know Julia Child for the good-hearted person she was. I did actually peer into the face of the governor of New Jersey on Thursday, and that of his wife and parents, and also peered into the face of his accuser on Friday. I was also in Iraq where I heard from Iraqi and American military commanders about the situation in Najaf. I was there as well to hear al-Sadr’s response. I was definitely in the stadium in Athens. The review I read in the paper this morning of the opening ceremonies concurred exactly with my impressions of the event. The contractor? Well, you know I was standing with him in the backyard and sorting out the various issues about debris removal. And the miracle of it all? I’ve never left my chair. Not once. Not for any of this. I've been is poised in front of my computer, working and watching and listening and learning and reacting and wondering and fretting and celebrating and wondering some more about the drama of the human condition and how it unfolds in such predictable and unpredictable ways all at the same time. Is this amazing or what? Yeah, it is. Definitely! And you’re not too jaded to see it, as well. Now about this Friday the 13th thing. Is there any chance we could jettison it once and for all? Or do we need it to reassure ourselves that life’s not morphing quite that quickly? Do we need these kinds of remnants of superstition and mystery to maintain a tie with our past? I don't really know, but I do know that if we drop it life wouldn't be half as interesting. Especially on Friday the 13th.
Peggy Aycinena owns and operates EDA Confidential. She can be reached at peggy@aycinena.com
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