Death Comes In Threes
Tuesday, January 01, 2008 Filed in: Things
An old saying says, "Death comes in threes."
If you wait long enough, look around hard enough,
then it's probably true.
A family friend died recently. So did an aunt. Assuming they're #1 and #2, respectively, who's next? As we found out within a few days, #3 came quickly, as did #4 and #5.
2007 was a banner year for funerals. Somewhere less than 10 years ago we began to attend more funerals than weddings. Our children are all married so it's likely the funeral-to-wedding ratio will only increase over the next few years.
So much goes on in the world today that anything that happens could be said to happen in threes. This is especially so if you ignore anything that happens in twos, or fours, or fives.
Some say that bad luck happens in threes. Define bad luck and then apply whatever happens to your definition. It won't take long to get to three so if you stop counting at whatever has happened at the third event, then the saying stands.
Conversely, do good things come in threes? What is it about threes that makes it so important, one way or the other? What about the number four? Japanese and Chinese don't like the number four. It's bad luck.
Why? For the Japanese, the number four is pronounced shi, which is also the word for death. I can see where that would cause some grief.
God only knows how all these numbers got stuck with good and bad luck issues. Those same Japanese folks who shy away from anything in fours, seem to love the number seven.
Seven is a lucky number. I agree. I'd rather have $7-million than $4.00 dollars.
A family friend died recently. So did an aunt. Assuming they're #1 and #2, respectively, who's next? As we found out within a few days, #3 came quickly, as did #4 and #5.
2007 was a banner year for funerals. Somewhere less than 10 years ago we began to attend more funerals than weddings. Our children are all married so it's likely the funeral-to-wedding ratio will only increase over the next few years.
So much goes on in the world today that anything that happens could be said to happen in threes. This is especially so if you ignore anything that happens in twos, or fours, or fives.
Some say that bad luck happens in threes. Define bad luck and then apply whatever happens to your definition. It won't take long to get to three so if you stop counting at whatever has happened at the third event, then the saying stands.
Conversely, do good things come in threes? What is it about threes that makes it so important, one way or the other? What about the number four? Japanese and Chinese don't like the number four. It's bad luck.
Why? For the Japanese, the number four is pronounced shi, which is also the word for death. I can see where that would cause some grief.
God only knows how all these numbers got stuck with good and bad luck issues. Those same Japanese folks who shy away from anything in fours, seem to love the number seven.
Seven is a lucky number. I agree. I'd rather have $7-million than $4.00 dollars.
