Bad luck today all depends on you

Some people are so fond of bad luck they run halfway to meet it.

-- Douglas William Jerrold

Happy Friday the 13th.

Today is the second one of 2009. We have another in November.

If you think three in one year is a lot, you are right. We only had one Friday the 13th in 2008, and there will only be one in 2010.

I wouldn't worry too much, however.

A Dutch Insurance study found that the rate of accidents actually went down on Friday the 13th.

They suspect that people -- expecting bad luck -- are a little bit more careful.

MAIL: Who travels this time of year?

Well, Pat and Wayne Fuller, of North Augusta, who send three postcards from Hawaii, which they say I recommended.

A volcano and the USS Arizona Memorial were among the highlights.

From Switzerland, Ernest and Martha Odom, of Evans, pass along "greetings from the Interlaken from 30 at FBC Augusta. No baseball parks, but the snow-covered mountains are beautiful.

"Hope to see you at Lake Olmstead Stadium in April."

THANK YOU: To the Joy Club at Warren Baptist Church for the great lunch Tuesday.

And thanks to Olin Plunkett for all his questions about newspapers.

MORE OLD MOVIES: Mike Rogers, of Evans, sent along a rather extensive list of old Augusta drive-ins, and said if I didn't believe him, I could ask Bob Smith, of WRDW-TV, who used to be a top-notch projectionist.

Mike writes: "In 1956, Augusta had nine outdoor theaters. Atlanta only had four. Ours included: Booker T. Drive-in, Bon Aire, Forest Hills. Hi-De-Ho, Cloverleaf, Hilltop, Number One, The Weis."

Also nearby were the Valley Drive-In in Bath and The Rebel in Thomson.

(Hi-De-Ho, Mike?)

WEB ALERT: My Our Town blog at augustachronicle.com features a very old story about a woman who wrote this newspaper to complain about her husband ... when George Washington was president.

TODAY'S JOKE: I think Everett Fernandez sent this one.

A guy walks into work, and both of his ears are all bandaged up.

The boss says, "What happened to your ears?"

"Yesterday I was ironing a shirt," he said, "when the phone rang and I accidentally answered the iron."

"Ouch," said the boss. "That explains one ear, but what happened to the other?"

"Well," the fellow said, "I had to call the doctor."

Reach Bill Kirby at (706) 823-3344 or bill.kirby@augustachronicle.com.