"Okay," the tour agent said, I will book you for tomorrow, Friday."
"Good," I said .
"That will be Friday the 13th of September," she said.
"Wait, is it Friday the 13th?"
"Yes, Friday the 13th is a lucky day." (She was being a good salesperson)
"I always heard it was an unlucky day."
"No," she laughs, "it's a lucky day."
"If it is an unlucky day, I will come back and tell you," I told her.

Some say it's the most widespread superstition in the U.S. today. Some people won't go to work on Friday the 13th. Some won't eat in restaurants. Weddings, to some, would never be done on Friday the 13th.

It's thought that up to 80% of Americans hold this superstition. In numerology, 12 is considered the number of completeness. There are 12 months in the year, twelve hours on the clock, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles of Jesus, and 12 signs in the Zodiac. The number 13 has been thought to be the number that interrupts this completeness. Some believe that if there are 13 people seated at a table, one will die. Apparently this derived from the Last Supper .

I just didn't know if I should pick a Friday the 13th to be jumping out of a plane 20,000 feet in the air. I didn't know if I really wanted to free-fall out of it on any day, but I didn't need anything adding to my anxiety like Friday the 13th, either.

Nevertheless, it was the only day I could do it. I already had plans for tomorrow and the next day was Friday and the next day I had a flight to catch out of town.

I don't think I would do it if I was jumping solo. I am sure I would stand in the airplane's open door and, looking down into all that air, I would back out from jumping. This jump would be done tandem, though. The person attached to my back would jump and push me ahead of him, regardless of my state of mind. We would free-fall for a minute before the chute opened.

I look forward to the free-fall period. I want to discover what it feels like to free-fall in the sky almost 4 miles up from the solid earth . Then, once the parachute opens, I want to experience the float down as the earth and objects become larger and larger. The landing is the crucial part. I hope to walk away without a limp or worse.

Now, at 5:30 in the afternoon, I was entering the tour agent's office. "I told you I would be back if it turned into an unlucky day", I told her. We laughed and I told her my story.

At 6:45 a.m. I was waiting for my pick up at my hostel in Waikiki. I noticed I had forgotten to shave after my shower. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

I ran back in and got a quick shave. I was back waiting for the van to pick me up at 6:50 a.m. The first stop we made we picked up a long-legged guy and 3 girls. He sat in the seat right behind me and immediately shoved his long legs in the back of my seat, right into my back. It could be a long 45 minute ride like this to the dive spot. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

The girls are loud and obnoxious . One of them wants the driver to stop for coffee but he insists there is not time. She should have done that before being picked up, he says. She continues to moan about not stopping for coffee. Then, her phone is dying. She wants the driver to charge it for her, but his charger will not fit her phone. She is really unprepared for this trip he tells her. I wish she would shut up and let the rest of us enjoy the trip and scenery, but she will not. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

It begins to RAIN as we leave Waikiki. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

The interstate on the Island is packed with rush-hour traffic. The rain gets harder and the views disappear. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

The driver has a radio station on of a talk show. It is boring and vulgar. He seems to think it is funny but no one else does . Why cannot he have a station on playing melodious Hawaiian music to get us in the mood. The talk show hosts continue with the juvenile sexual innuendoes that most of us get tired of quickly. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

Eventually, we arrive at the dive spot. We watch the short film telling us we could be horribly maimed or die during this event. The speaker in the video says there is no perfect instructor and no perfect parachute packer. There is no perfect pilot. He mentioned everyone that worked there except maybe the janitor. He should have included the computers we were about to be put on, though. He said we could change our minds for a full refund up until the time we put on our harness. Also, if we didn't trust his company the people working the counter would be happy to give us a paper with all the other skydiving companies and phone numbers listed.

We went to laptop computers to fill out the waiver that promises we (or our survivors) will not sue for injuries or death . If anyone does sue they must pay all court costs for each side and then if any damages are awarded we will have to pay the amount. We are in a lose-lose situation. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

The PC laptop that I get will not scroll when I need it to. The touch pad is worn I guess. I have to try several times to get it to recognize any drop-down list or scroll down the page. I change laptops on the counter that goes around the room. It is not much better, I wonder if I will every get this thing done. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

Soon my 16 page waiver is filled out and I am ready to go to the counter to check in and get on the jump list. The girl at the desk compares my I.D. with my computer generated waiver. The drop-down list did not enter my correct month of birth. It says January but my license says July. I will have to re-do the entire waiver. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters .

Finally, I am on the jump list and go to get a locker to put all the things in my pockets in for the jump. The first locker I walk up to says "13". What the heck. I am already in the "13" thing very deep so why not? Then, I think maybe I should not push it any further. I take locker number "15" instead. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

The rain has stopped. It was the first rain I have seen in the 10 days I have been in Hawaii. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

We all sit on the patio watching the sky. It is still cloudy. Every 30 minutes or so they check the weather to see if conditions are right to start making jumps. Always the answer is "No". It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

After 3 hours of waiting at the drop zone, the announcement over the loud-speaker says there will be no jumps today because of the weather . It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

We load up for the 45 minute ride back to Waikiki. I will have to skydive another time, somewhere else. It would have been nice to see the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii and the mountains while free-falling at 20,000 feet. But, it will not happen today, Maybe another place and another time. At the end of the ride in Waikiki, the sky looks blue and clear. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.

I stopped by the tour agents place like I promised to tell her if the 13th turned out bad. I told her my story and reminded her I was right about the 13th after all. She laughed and promised to book me on a skydive the next time I was in Hawaii. "But, not on a Friday the 13th", I said. She laughed and said "No, not on a Friday the 13th".

I booked another adventure I wanted to do for tomorrow. It will only take a few hours in the morning and I will still have time to catch my flight out . It will be on Saturday the 14th, but I don't know if that matters.

I went to swim in the clear, blue waters along the Waikiki beach. Later in the evening I sat in the open market and listened to an Hawaiian Band. The leader noticed an older native Hawaiian lady in the audience and asked her to come forward and do an interpretive Hula dance to the next song. After we clapped our encouragement she came forward and danced to the song.

Back in my room I worked on this entry for Friday the 13th, saving my changes as I went along. Once I finished I previewed my work, but my changes were not there. I had to redo all the work. It is Friday the 13th, but I don't know if that matters.