Rabbit, Rabbit!

Do you say Rabbit, Rabbit for luck on the first of the month?  

Here's how it works. 

Say Bunny, Bunny before bed on the last day of the month.  If you can remember to say Rabbit, Rabbit as your very first words in the morning on the first of the new month, it brings good luck.  Or you get your wish.  Or you get a present.  Depends on which part of merry old New England you grew up in, maybe. 

As far as I know, no one said Bunny, Bunny, Rabbit, Rabbit when I was a kid.  Just me.  Because I read Trixie Belden books.  (ALL the Trixie Belden books.)  Trixie said Rabbit, Rabbit in book #9, The Happy Valley Mystery, and got her wish for a mystery to solve.

I have been trying to do the same ever since.

Over the considerable number of years since fifth grade, I have taken liberties with the charm by giving myself an extra two chances a year. 

Saying Rabbit, Rabbit on your birthday should net you good luck, or at least a good present, right?  Even though my birthday is not on the first, I feel it is a special circumstance. 

And then there is New Years.  Yes, technically that is one of the twelve monthly firsts, but to my way of thinking, saying Rabbit, Rabbit on New Year's morning ought to net you good luck all year long.

So December is my big month.  My birthday month.  The month at the end of which begins the New Year. 

3 chances!  My best shot at good luck all year long. 

So far, the extra opportunites haven't panned out. 

On the first, I woke up somewhere around 4am with a cat biting my toe, and the first word out of my mouth was, "Ouch".

This morning, my own very special birthday morning, I did  remember to say Rabbit Rabbit.  Yep, I remembered at last to say Rabbit, Rabbit, immediately after waking up in the dark.  Immediately after first mumbling semi out loud, "Oh no.  Is that the toilet running?"

I am feeling kind of low about it, so I am guessing mumbles count as words, and the luck isn't going to stick for today either.

As I recall, Trixie had problems remembering to say Rabbit, Rabbit too.  We had a lot in common, Trixie and me.  Tomboy behavior, love of blue jeans, hatred of math.   And above all, the wish for some excitement in life.

Trixie was a problem solver, though.  I would have said it was cheating, but in the opening chapter of The Happy Valley Mystery she put a sign at the end of her bed, "Say Rabbit Rabbit!"  And of course, as we all know, she was able at last to pull it off, and got her wish.  Obviously, a sign at the end of the bed is perfectly acceptable to the lucky rabbit gods.

It's bright, clear, and cold outside (cold, as in 50 degrees, i.e., cold for here) this birthday morning. 

The TV news shows a scene of cars buried in snow on the NYS Thruway. 

I count eleven manatees rolling through the sparkles on the lake from where I sit typing.  There were a couple dolphins jumping up into the sunshine just a minute ago.  

Popeye is back from Maine.  We both have the day off.  There's a new Harry Potter movie out to go see tonight.  It's shaping up to be a pretty good birthday, now that I think about it.

Trixie may have needed her lucky rabbits up there in the Hudsen Valley, but I am already lucky.  The Chick is back from Colorado.  I live on waterfront in Florida.  I have some really great bikes, and a husband making me an omlette in the kitchen.  There's hardly a rabbit anywhere with enough luck to top that.

Maybe this New Year's Eve, my third and final chance this month, I might do better to appeal to some of the local good luck gods.  

What about whispering Manatee Manatee, as I put up my own sign at the end of the bed?

A sign that reminds me to "Say Dolphin Dolphin!"

That will work, I know it!  Like the charm that it is.

But what to wish for? 

Remember the old genie in a bottle scenario?  How every other wise ass kid in the neighborhood would say, "I'd wish for three more wishes!" 

That's it, exactly.

Another year, another birthday, three more wishes.

What more could anyone ask?