GaryOsberg.com

Today is the third Friday the 13th this year. It is very unusual for there to be three in one year. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, NC, reported that an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business on this day. “It’s been estimated that $800 to $900 million is lost in business on this day..” source John Roach.

According to Wikipedia, the actual origin of the superstition appears to be a tale in Norse mythology. Friday is named for Frigga, the free-spirited goddess of love and fertility. When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil – a gathering of thirteen – and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week. For many centuries in Scandinavia, Friday was known as “Witches’ Sabbath.” source: Charles Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things.

The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the State Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio. Special guests include Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks with a few classics from America’s jazz age to warm up your radio tubes as winter bears down on us. The East 4th Street Quartet along with singer Christine DiGiallonardo teaming up with the host to deliver some sizzling jingles. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman will entertain us with a variety of skits. Enjoy the show.

“Always vote for a principle, though you vote alone, and you may cherish the sweet reflection that your vote is never lost.” John Quincy Adams