Superstitious? Not Me!
I interviewed Brandon Ellrich as we were eating lunch at a nearby cafe. I asked him a question regarding superstitions.
Are you superstitious?
“Of course not. That’s just silly.”
What are you doing?
“Eating my lunch.”
No, I mean…with the salt. You threw it over your shoulder.
“Oh, that’s just something you do.”
Umm…
“Anyway, where were we?”
I was asking about superstitions. Do you feel you’ve experienced bad luck — a string of accidents, that sort of thing?
“No, not at all. In fact, I’ve never broken any bones.”
(Then Brandon knocked on the table. He noticed me looking curiously at his fist. He then began drumming his fingers on the table and made the sound of a cymbal as he hit the napkin holder).
“Haha.”
Hmmm…
(After lunch, we walked down the sidewalk. I noticed Brandon was avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk, so I brought it up).
“Well, I don’t want to scuff up my shoes!”
I see.
(We walked on and I saw something on the ground).
Is that a penny?
(Brandon started to bend down to pick it up but decided not to).
I’ll get it.
(He grabbed my arm).
“NO! I mean, someone else may need it.”
(I noticed the penny was tail-side up).
Right.
“Hold on, we’d better cross to the other side.”
(I looked up ahead and there was a ladder leaning against the building).
You don’t want to go under the ladder? Isn’t that superstitious?
“No, that’s just unsafe!”
(We crossed to the other side of the street, but Brandon suddenly stopped).
“On second thought, maybe we should go back the other way.”
(A black cat crossed in front of us, so we turned around).
Umm…
“It has nothing to do with the cat. I just remembered there’s a cute shop back this way that you might like to see.”
I have a couple more people to interview. Perhaps we can continue tomorrow?
“What is tomorrow?”
Friday.
“The 13th?”
Yes, I believe it is.
“I’ve got to stay home tomorrow. You know, work stuff.”
Of course.
Copyright © 2023 Brandon Ellrich
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*Originally published on Medium
