Friday the 13th

I'm not the suspicious type. I don't give credence to the alleged evils of black cats, ladders and the number 13. However, I do have a weakness, just a little, for lucky numbers.

Since I was born on the 28th of the month, I've always felt a connection to the number 28. There are only two times I can recall that this number has proven "lucky" for me.

The first was 10 years ago, when Jim and I shared our first kiss on the 28th of March. (I won't get into details.) The second, and appropriately so, was 5 years ago in Vegas for our wedding.

We were staying at the Treasure Island Casino hotel. We're not big gamblers by any means, but one night we decided to stop at the roulette table. Feeling lucky (as newlyweds should), we put $5 on 28 and $5 on 17 (Jim's lucky number). The wheel started spinning and low and behold, the ball bounced into the 28 slot! We didn't know much about roulette, but we knew that was a good thing. A few minutes later, with $190 in our hands, we confirmed that.

Since then, we play the Powerball weekly with the numbers 28 and 17, and other numbers that came to Jim in a dream (I'm serious). We've matched a few numbers occasionally but never hit a jackpot like we did Vegas.

I guess it's best to be lucky in love and count your blessings. Those are some great numbers to keep close to the heart.