Are you superstitious?

My first thought was obviously the quote from “The Office” when Steve Carrel’s character, Michael Scott is asked this same question.

My Dad’s family were country people, from rural Southeast Missouri and Northern Arkansas. The people in this part of the country are hard working people, but there are something’s you just don’t do. In the case of my Dad’s family, there were a lot of things they did that I had no idea were superstitions.

Things like don’t put your purse on the floor because your money will run out. Or, don’t let a cat near a baby, because they will suck their breath away. The broken mirror, the umbrella open in a house, all of those too were on the list.

But my Dad’s Granny, her grandmother was a “Wise Woman” (apologies If I am using an incorrect term, this is what Granny said) from the Cherokee Nation in Alabama. She had ones I didn’t realize that everyone’s didn’t share. Ones like, If you are suffering from pain in your body, to tie a string around where the pain was and then tie other end of the string around a knife placed under the mattress or bed. Oh and the bird flying into a house meant someone was going to die or if you had a wart, take a potato to a cemetery in the evening, cut the potato in half, rub half in the cemetery dirt, then rub on the wart, then wash off with water from the cemetery. (Turns out you only need the potato and not the cemetery trip).

My Mom’s family was Irish, we had a lot from them too, like itchy palms – right palm itches you will be giving money out, left palm means you’ll be receiving money. My favorite one is if you see a cardinal, a loved one that passed is visiting you.

I wouldn’t say that I’m superstitious, but I will always make sure that I eat Black Eyed Peas on New Years Day, making sure that the laundry is done and house cleaned on New Years Eve and use a new broom in the new year so I don’t bring the old years dirt and troubles into the new one.