You won't find a rabbit's foot in my pocket. Stepping on sidewalk cracks doesn't bother me. Black cats? Bring 'em on. And horoscopes are just gibberish.
I'm just not superstitious. But I know folks who are. Especially on New Year's Day.
They're convinced that certain activities that day can bring forth good luck. And bad.
The other day, Ma warned me not to do laundry today.
"It's bad luck," she said. Folks say doing so could kill a family member within the year.
In the 19th century, farmers would actually put off wash day if it fell on the first day of the year, according to at least two Web sites.
"Do not do the laundry on New Year's Day, lest a family member be "washed away' (die) in the upcoming months," according to an urban legends Web site called snopes.com.
Oh no, I had better warn my dry cleaner, unless I can find that dry cleaning doesn't count. Maybe he'll be closed.
The globalpsychics site also says it was considered bad luck for a woman to be the first to walk into a house on New Year's Day.
Doors were chained to prevent women from entering.
I hope my two sisters don't come to see me without a male escort today. They might talk to them through the front door.
Food also must be monitored, and not for health reasons.
What you eat and when you eat it could mean the difference between a year of want and a year of plenty.
Some families polish off sauerkraut for good luck.
Others dig in to hoppin' John(black-eyed peas served with rice).
We eat hearty helpings of collard greens. Most of the time, my grandma uses fresh greens from the garden.
They simmer and stew until they're just right. The leafy green veggies are said to bring money your way.
If there was any truth to that, I'd be rich by now.
While I can't clean my clothes, I must clean my house. Ma also reminds me to tidy up on New Year's Eve.
"It's bad luck to start the year with a messy house," she says. She suggests I sweep, mop and dust before the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve.
She's convinced that if your home isn't tidy by midnight, you'll have a messy house all year long.
Cleaning is no big deal, but I'm so tempted not to.
Why not put it to the test? Let's see if there's any truth to these silly old sayings.
It won't be the first time I've tested superstition.
Years ago, my best friend, Candi, warned me against giving this guy I was dating a watch or a pair of shoes as a gift.
"If you give a man shoes, he'll walk right out of your life," she said.
"If you give him a watch, he'll no longer give you the time of day."
That one turned out to be true.
I bought him a swanky wristwatch for Valentine's Day. He thanked me for it.
Later, he stopped accepting my calls.
His roommate was the one to relay that he didn't want to see me anymore.
Maybe I should have barged right through his front door that next New Year's Day, tracked mud on his carpet and offered to do his laundry.
