Blogging on Friday the 13

Blogging from East Bruce

Vonda Tedford Keon

Do you know anyone who is so paralyzed by fear that they won’t stick their head out of the door on Friday the 13th? I read that a study was done by the Stress Management and Phobia Institute and they concluded that 17 million people are affected by Friday the 13th. I wonder if these are the same people that throw salt over their left shoulder when they spill it, or refuse to walk under a ladder or step on a crack. Friday the 13th didn’t get any hype until prior to the 19th century. I love to study history so I decided to do a little impromptu research on the subject. The Last Supper, was held on Thursday, with Judas numbered among the 13 guests (Jesus plus the 12 apostles). Then Jesus was crucified on Friday. Then there is the theory of when the death angle went through Egypt and killed all the first born. This Passover day was the Friday the 13th of Nissan which I would agree was a very unlucky day for the non-Hebrew people. The rest of what I found was a bit ridiculous and unfounded so I just decided to do what any sensible person would do on Friday the 13th ; I am taking my cup of coffee out to my gazebo and sitting down to enjoy reading one of the books in my ‘gotta read this’ stack and enjoy the cool breeze and relax.

It has occurred to me that life has gotten so fast and furious, even in our rural area, that we as people don’t really get the chance to visit or ‘sit a spell’ with our friends and neighbors. How many times do you catch up on the news of the community by happenstance because you ran into someone in the grocery aisle? It’s a shame that we don’t see our neighbors and friends like we used to. I blame this on not having a porch. Modern houses don’t have a nice shady place out front to sit and wave at your friends as they go driving by. We don’t grab our iced tea and go chill on the porch at the end of the day. It’s too easy to turn on the TV and plop on the couch than it is to actually talk to someone. Bring back porches I say! Or gazebos at least.

We could just pick up the phone and call folks. The majority of the folks I know have cell phones in their pockets now. Pesky contraptions that they are, they sure do come in handy. There are days that go by that I don’t get to see my mom because I am all over the place working but I can call her. The only problem with a cell phone is I don’t remember phone numbers any longer. If it’s not stored in that memory card I can’t call. That is a shame. So I have to call Mama and use her like directory assistance. Her number is the only one I can remember now. I remember the number that matters the most right?

I am cantor at my church, St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church. The cantor is the song leader and there to help the community worship. The songs and Psalms and scripture that are sung at each service are sung prayers for the congregation and for me. Through the songs the congregation becomes involved in the worship instead of just sitting there. It matters not how well a person sings. It matters that the words are intoned with sincerity and are from the heart. Each week I look at the Psalms and Sacred Scripture that I will be cantoring. The cantor sings the verses and the congregation sings the response. It is a beautiful moment during the service to hear the voices sing in unison and to know that we are all singing the same praises and prayers. This Sundays Psalm of response is excerpts from Psalms 69. The response is beautiful, ‘Turn to the Lord in your need and you will live.” Simple words to live by this weekend.