Friday The Thirteenth.... Poem by Sylvia Frances Chan

My thoughts go back to the time that I have just arrived in the Netherlands.
We live in Leiden at that time.
On the coffee, asked by my neighbour.
She also said that she has invited a few other ladies.
Cozy such a Dutch neighbourhood coffee morning.
Some ladies also have their toddlers with them.
At that time I only have one son, a toddler of 2.5 years. He has cute eyes, the ladies say, just deer eyes and nice dark.
I have seen deer in the Hout in Oegstgeest, but I have not seen a comparison.
The toddlers enjoy themselves very well.
The ladies look at the children all the time, nobody talks to each other.
I'm not used to that. In Jakarta, talking is normal. These ladies are a bit quiet.
Nobody opens their mouths, just smiles at each other, which I find a bit stupid, and then sip at their coffee, eat a cookie.
I find this silence very boring,
so I started with this:

The Netherlands is a believing country, but, I wonder, why are there so many superstitions? For example, that people are not allowed to walk under stairs on the street, to have a black cat and Friday the thirteenth is something like that.
These are a few, I don't know the rest.

But you know, I don't believe it, really not.
The ladies look at each other as to whether they hear Cologne thunder.

I continue with the explanation for all three "additional beliefs".
If you walk in the street, be careful not to hit the legs of the ladder,
if you don't, nine out of ten cases that the stairs fall over because you accidentally kick your feet against it,
about a black cat that brings bad luck, that is because you IF you have a black cat, you alwthink of that superstition, then certainly some "accidents" happen
and on Friday the thirteenth, I don't believe it, how can a day bring bad luck, all days of the week are the same?

The ladies did not say anything, no present or questions.
Inwardly I thought: hi people, this is a boring job, I have suggested propositions, but no rebuttal.

At that time, of course, I am years younger, but I have never attached any value to superstitions. My mother doesn't believe it either, just like my father.
This is certainly my origin.
I want to close this story with:

Our second son was born on Friday the Thirteenth, a very healthy child, a cloud of a baby, very beautiful baby. The sun is shining and it is amidst winter.
Dad has thrown snowballs with the oldest.
I have taken a black cat from the youngest son into the house, because he doesn't play much with the cat. He got it from his girlfriend who read on an advertisement that there is somewhere to get a cat.
At that time he is still studying. I think he doesn't like the cat so much,
she is a bit quiet and dull, he called her Panther because of her black fur.
She has lived with us until her death. She turned 15 years old.
We have had a lot of fun with her, Panter has brought a lot of fun to our house.
A very sweet cat with a nice shiny black fur.
We still miss her.


Photography by Sylvia Frances Chan: Our second baby son, a Beautiful baby son.


©Sylvia Frances Chan - All Rights Reserved
AD. Saturday 15 Febraury 2020