fifi’s graffiti

Do bad things come in threes? Is three an unlucky number? I heard (I think it was on Mad Men) that the expression “three on a match” as a term of bad luck evolved from the trenches of World War I. At night snipers would watch for targets, and the flicker of a match as a soldier lit a cigarette would catch the hitman’s eye. As a second soldier’s cigarette flared with the same match the sniper took aim. The third soldier who lit a fag initiated the squeeze of the trigger. Three on a match was literally a dead giveaway.

I can’t decide if I’ve had 2 or 3 bad luck cases with my car. First the window bolts in the doors had to be replaced to prevent them shattering the windows. That was a recall because of a manufacturing flaw, so it cost me only being without my car for day. Then I had a fender bender, which cost me the $500 deductible, 3 weeks without my car, and probably an increase in my insurance rate. Sunday night when I cranked the engine to go home from work all I got was br-rr-rrr-r & silence. Dead battery. My co-worker had gone home early. No one to give me a jump. Hooray for AAA. Had to wait until midnight, but I got home. I waited in the darkness of the parking lot for an hour, watching the bugs consorting in the spotlight aimed at a flagless flagpole, and was rewarded for my patience when a bat arrived to consume the bugs. It always surprises me how small they are.

So have I had 2 or 3 bad lucks with my car? Should I prepare for another? I saw a charm for sale “Lucky Number 2″. Anyone know if two is a lucky number? Seven is so cliche……