Maybe third time's the charm for 13th

I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.

-- Procrastinator's Creed

Feeling lucky?

I know today is Friday the 13th, but the chances of you having a bad day over a good day are statistically 50/50 -- the same as they were on Thursday the 12th.

Speaking of numbers, every year will have at least one Friday the 13th. The most you can have in a year is three. This year, we had three. Considering the economy, I'd say that's about right.

MY THANKS: To the Uptown Kiwanis Club for lunch Tuesday. As always, it's a pleasure to be Brian Mulherin 's straight man.

CATCHING UP: J. Claire Vawter Krolick, of New Berlin, Wis., sent this note about our effort to find the old statue of the goddess Minerva at Augusta's old Tubman High.

"I graduated from Tubman in 1942 and remember the statue very well," she writes. "As freshmen we were told we had to kiss the feet of Minerva or we'd never graduate.

"I have fond memories of spending four years there and walking past Minerva twice a day. Mr. T. Harry Garrett was principal and Miss Dora Hines, (vice) principal.

"We all loved T. Harry, but Miss Dora put the fear of God in us.

"Thank you for letting me know where Minerva is spending her retirement."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

TODAY'S MAIL: Bill and Sonja Means send a nice post card from Australia where they report: "Sydney is beautiful! About 78 degrees today. We've seen a lot of stuff. Going to New Zealand."

TODAY'S JOKE: Here's one from Frank Allen you can tell at church Sunday.

Two men crashed in their private plane on a South Pacific island. Both survived. One of the men brushed himself off and then proceeded to run all over the island to see if they had any chance of survival.

When he returned, he rushed up to the other man and screamed, "This island is uninhabited, there is no food, there is no water. We are going to die!"

The other man leaned back against the fuselage of the wrecked plane, folded his arms and responded, "No, we're not. I make over $250,000 a week."

The first man grabbed his friend and shook him. "Listen, we are on an uninhabited island. There is no food, no water. We are going to die!"

The other man, unruffled, again responded. "No, I make over $250,000 a week."

The first man, taken aback with such an answer again repeated, "For the last time, I'm telling you we ARE doomed. There is NO one else on this island. There is NO food. There is NO water. We are, I repeat, going to die a slow death."

Still unfazed, the second man looked the other in the eyes and said, "Do not make me say this again. I make over $250,000 per week, I am a Baptist, and I tithe ... MY PASTOR WILL FIND US!"

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