Some of us are crossing our fingers, others crossing ourselves. Larry David is so nervous he says he can't sit down. Maybe if he crossed his legs...
Though I'm not particularly superstitious, after losing an entire season of high school football I swore that if we ever won I'd never change my athletic socks. We were undefeated the next season. For three years in a row I kept my promise and wore those socks. I didn't even wash them. There were advantages. I had privacy in an otherwise crowded locker room. But I digress.
Time magazine published the contents of the candidate's pockets. The Candidates' Lucky Charms: Barack Obama It showed:
Amongst the things that Barack Obama carries for good luck are a bracelet belonging to a soldier deployed in Iraq, a gambler’s lucky chit, a tiny monkey god and a tiny Madonna and child.
Maybe Obama doesn't want to change his shoes during the campaign. He's already had them resoled once, as you know.
When McCain was asked about how many houses he had he said:
"I spent 5 1/2 years in a prison cell. I didn't have a house. I didn't have a kitchen table. I didn't have a table."
I thought how his first wife probably set an empty place at the family table for him during his captivity. Is that hope? or superstition? I know my family sets a place for those who are away.
John McCain
In addition to a lucky penny, John McCain carries a lucky nickel, and a lucky rubber band, which he wears around his wrist. He also has a lucky sweater and a lucky hotel room in New Hampshire.
I realize that what little superstition I have comes to me from my Irish side. This past January I was delighted that my friend Tony was the first to cross our threshold. Not just because he's one of my oldest and closest friends but because we Irish hold that it is good luck to first receive a tall, dark, handsome man at the New Year.
The more I think about it the more I believe it will bring good fortune to the USA if Barack Obama is the first to cross the threshold of the White House this year.
So what are you doing? No jinx!