The {Guest} Post About Rabbits And Their Lucky Feet

Today's guest rabbit chaser is Carl Carter from Carl's Lost & Found. I met Carl in real life at a blogger shindig in Birmingham and he immediately agreed to let me be his friend. No one can resist my stalking charms.

 

{image: just.Luc}

It’s not superstition. It’s simply physics, or biology, or something…

Pity the poor rabbit.

Not the effervescent Jamie who follows her bunny trails here, but the kind with fur and long ears. People kill them, cut off their feet, dye them, add cheap chains and sell them for $2.

For the moment, let's ignore the fact that the rabbit actually had four “lucky” feet. Cultures all over the world respect the rabbit’s foot, but they have rules. In North America, it’s believed to have grown out of the African-American hoodoo tradition. In that case, it had to be a left rear foot, killed or captured in a graveyard, preferably under a full moon and shot with a silver bullet.

We all have our own ways of controlling the universe. Tim Tebow's PDR (public displays of religion) have called attention to our habit of praying for a win. Last year, during the NFL playoffs, someone posted: "The Texans have had so many challenges this season. Please pray that God will give them a win on Sunday." He didn't give them that win.  Having thousands praying on both sidelines must put God in a terribly awkward position. 

Leaving issues of faith aside, it still comes down to engaging in some behavior to control some part of the universe.

We pick up a penny if it’s face up and leave it behind if it’s face down. Even the penny tradition can get complicated. At Texas A&M, students on their way to an exam will stop by the statue of former Governor Sul Ross, a former school president. Supposedly, ol’ Sul had always been willing to help out a student, but he would never accept more than a penny for his trouble. So the idea must be Ross is helping turn their wrong answers into right ones.

The real luck may belong to the person who comes along next October 20 and picks up those pennies. The Aggies play LSU that day. Welcome to the SEC.

I’m not immune to this human need to control the universe. In my case, it all started when I was a kid at the railroad tracks in Woodlawn, Alabama. Everyone pretty much accepted you shouldn’t be touching anything with your hands or feet when your car crossed the tracks. Whenever we approached the crossing, we raised our hands and lifted our feet off the floorboard. It's an impressive feat when driving a straight shift.

But most of my superstitions developed independently over time. As noted in a recent post on my blog MediaGuyCarl.com - one of mine is watches. I own several. When I've had a bad day, it’s because the watch has run out of luck, so I try a different one the next day. I’ve been known to go home in the middle of a very bad day and change watches.

Another is a fear of turning 360 degrees. This only applies when walking or standing, and I’m very strict about it. When I shower and turn my back to rinse, I’m careful to turn back the same way. When I cut the grass, I make sure I alternate right and left turns. This one can get downright comical when I’ve got my two dogs on leashes and they start circling in opposite directions.

I’ll let somebody else figure out the complex psychological, biological and physical origins of these. For me, it’s just a matter of covering all the bases.

How do you cover the bases? Do you have any superstitions? 

Carl Carter is a PR professional, media watcher, woodworker, grandpa, and pen turner. He loves good dogs, good beers and good burgers. Read his blog. Follow him on Twitter.