Friday the 13th

Yesterday was Friday the 13th. For those of you diligent at keeping score, Fridays landing on the 13th are wobbly at best and bad luck at worst. Most certainly, yesterday proved bad luck for those folks flying (or rather attempting to do so) in the U.S. after the FAA grounded all the planes.

I queried the interweb about the bad luck thing. Apparently, Friday the 13th has long been considered an unlucky day, owing to a combination of two separate superstitions. The number 13 was viewed as an unwelcome intruder in a world that seemed to favor the completeness of 12, while Friday acquired an unfortunate reputation through Christian tradition and the belief that Jesus was crucified on that day. Eventually, the two found each other and held hands to emerge as a superstition of their own.

I actually have a dog in the fight when it comes to considering the luck associated with Friday the 13th. I was born on one.

—Mitchell Hegman

Tethered to the Rovers

A half-dozen satellites crisscrossed directly overhead as Desiree and I lazed in the hot tub last night. At present, the orbital shell around Earth teems with them. Consider them, these overhead rovers.

Our connections to these wandering machines are woven into nearly every aspect of modern life. We have tethered ourselves electronically to them so they might help guide our automobiles, carry our telephone conversations, deliver television and internet signals, provide weather forecasts, and keep financial transactions and countless other exchanges in motion. The air above is awash with pulsating signals bouncing between Earth and these mechanical companions. We have, in a remarkably short time, become utterly dependent on these heavenly connections. They are much more than pinpricks of light drifting through the smattering of stars.

—Mitchell Hegman

The Fab Four

My love for listening to music started at an early age. At that time, AM radio and my mother’s LP records served to satisfy my hungry ear. Early on, I developed a taste for classical music, The Sons of the Pioneers, Johnny Horton, and most of the popular music of the day.

I was on the cusp of turning eight when the Beatles first made their splash in the U.S., and I was not at all impressed with them. I did not want to hold their hand. And all of their lovey, love, love stuff rather turned me aside. They were no Sons of the Pioneers in my way of reckoning.

I really did not learn to appreciate the “Fab Four” until decades later. I had to wade back through years of preference for hard rock to get there. And my initial pathway in was first illuminated by some of John Lennon’s edgier and more experimental songs.

I have since learned to appreciate the entire catalog of Beatles songs. Paul McCartney and John Lennon both proved to be prolific and brilliant songwriters. While McCartney wrote many absolutely gorgeous songs, some of Lennon’s songs burrow deeper into me. And then you have George Harrison, who produced several of their best songs. Even today, “Here Comes the Sun” leads in popularity on streaming platforms.

—Mitchell Hegman

Then and Now

When I was a kid, my parents kept a tight rein on the food that entered our house. The list of forbidden items included soda, candy, and potato chips. Dessert with dinner was a rare event.

These days, without any particular plan or conscious effort, I've apparently taken it upon myself to make up for all those years of deprivation. My shopping cart and sometimes Desiree have become willing accomplices. And, for some reason, I've added a few pounds.

—Mitchell Hegman

Insert Something Paranormal Here

I’ve posted a photograph I captured with my SLR film camera in 1993. The photograph features Lake Helena under a late, stormy sky. When I look at it, I feel the only thing missing is some sort of paranormal event to fit the mood.

Lake Helena, 1993

—Mitchell Hegman

A New Word

I have always thought that “doublify” should be a word. It would mean something similar to double but with a sense of urgency. Say, for example, you suddenly realize you need a lot more beer, and someone suggests they will make a trip to the store for a 12-pack.

“Doublify that” would be the proper marching order.

—Mitchell Hegman

Life and Soul

George Santayana, the American philosopher best known for the often-misused observation, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” didn't believe that humans (or any other creatures, for that matter) exist as beings with souls. He viewed consciousness as merely an outgrowth of matter, a chemical trick no more remarkable than acid eating organic matter or a seed germinating.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to prove him wrong.

—Mitchell Hegman