Ask anyone and most will give you an item they avoid, rituals they perform to ward away bad luck and the avoidance and acknowledgement of omens. Walking under ladders, black cats crossing in front of them, breaking mirrors and a host of other odds and ends make up only a portion of a list that seems to tailored to our individual duck and cover side steps through life.
Once long ago when I was married, my former mother-in-law's mother observed a macrame owl which hung on the back side of a free standing fireplace in my home. She told me it was bad luck. Being a new mom, I took no chances and removed the owl. Personally, I think owls are beautiful when in their natural surroundings. Soundless flight, fierce hunters and that head spinning around as if completely disjointed from the rest of its body, the owl is a majestic creature.
For Christmas, I received a beautiful framed print of an owl. They seem to be everywhere now, sewing projects, quilts, art, photography, they have become all the rage. I was delighted to receive the print and two days ago I found a place to hang the image of this hunter of the night, right inside my bedroom.
Almost like clock work, things began to happen. I decided to move my beloved Jelly Jar cabinet to a location where I could sand and eventually repaint it. The move proved to be less than simple or quick.
My darling Son assisted me with this task and before I could get the cabinet to its new resting spot, we managed to shatter the glass pane in the front of it's door. I spent a good amount of time weeping for the partial destruction of this piece of furniture knowing that it was no longer as it's maker had intended. Soon I came to terms with the prospect of modifying this cabinet, working to remove the other pane of glass with the goal of replacing both with some old chicken wire. I had seen that design before and loved its turn of the century look and appeal. I picked and swept up glass pieces and fragments.
Then the kitchen sink began to leak.
I addressed the sink issue calling my more than generous landlord who within minutes was there to help.
Then the coffee pot fell victim. I'm not exactly sure how it happened but by the end of the day, I was picking up pieces of glass once again. Not just glass mind you, the coffee pot was filled with freshly brewed hot coffee. I had brewed the coffee in the coffeemaker and then removed the pot to cool. This is a process used before refrigerating the black gold for use in our homemade Frappuccinos. While cooking dinner, I opened the cabinet door and a jar fell from the shelf striking the side of the coffee pot with enough force to blast a hole in the side. I stood there in shock watching the coffee pour all over the counter and floor. Immediately, I was grateful I had made the mad dash to the Dollar General only hours before specifically for paper towels. I cleaned up the glass and wiped up the coffee.
I could barely eat my dinner. I pondered life without my beloved coffee pot which mind you was only a few months old. The lean pockets I currently posses will not afford me the opportunity to purchase another for some time to come. So I went to the Internet and searched for ways to brew coffee without a coffee pot.
Now I recall Mom and Dad having a Percolator coffee pot. I certainly didn't have that nor had anyone had one in 30 years most likely. So, I found a large glass jar, stuck my funnel in the top, placed a coffee filter inside that and loaded up some coffee grounds. On the stove, I put water in a small cast iron pot to boil.
Adding small amounts of hot water to the grounds, I watched the glass jar fill with what appeared to be very rich coffee. Perhaps I have made espresso by accident?
Needless to say, the framed owl print is now on the back porch in a box well outside my home. One can not take chances with harbingers of bad omens. I still like to look at them in pictures and appreciate them for what they are and their contributions to this world. But under no circumstances will I have an owl in my home.
Unless this all has to do with the number 13 and the year 2013 in which case I'm doomed.
