It is not a good month for paraskavidekatriphobics (fear of Friday 13th) and triskaidekaphobics (those afraid of the number 13 itself). They can find solace, however, in that it is the only such on this year’s calendar. And they’re in good company. Marlene Dietrich was an astrology devotee, loathe to ignore omens, as noted Steven Bach in his biography of the acclaimed entertainer. Ernest Hemingway, on board the Île de France in 1934, wrote of how she refused to join a table where twelve are already seated. A more recent thespian with somewhat similar beliefs is Shirley MacLaine.
