Take the unfortunate incident in Italy, for example. MG and I travelled to Italy on our tenth anniversary. One of the cities we visited was Rome. In my defense let me assure you that the Colosseum and the Forum were already in ruins when I got there. I was not responsible for their condition. We went to an outdoor papal audience at the Papal Palace of Castel Gandalfo. The Pope blessed us and the others gathered in the crowd beneath his balcony. I held up my wedding ring to be blessed so the hounds of hell would hunt MG down if he ever left me. It was very spiritual and uplifting.

We were scheduled to leave for home the next morning but there were flight delays at Leonardo da Vinci airport. It seemed the nation was mourning the death of Pope Pius XII.

I assure you I was not to blame. His death was not my fault. It was mere coincidence that it happened after my visit, that’s all. I am not a jinx.

Another unfortunate incident occurred when we went camping out west one year. We visited Yellowstone National Park. We went on nature hikes, visited the falls and Old Faithful, and cooked hot dogs that kept falling off the skewers into the fire pit. The day after we broke camp and were homeward bound, we heard on the news that a huge fire had swept through the park burning several acres of woodland.

I assure you I am not to blame. The fire was not my fault. It was mere coincidence that it happened after my visit, that’s all. I am not a jinx.

Recently, I was present at another unfortunate incident. MG and I decided to spend a couple of days in Detroit. We drove over and visited the Detroit Institute of Art and then spent the night in a hotel. The following afternoon, MG and I went to our first ever Detroit Tigers baseball game. We had good seats on the third base line close to home plate. The game was a humdinger. Players were hit by pitches. Players shoved each other around and punched each other out. Brawls broke out—the benches cleared three times during the game—one melee after another. Managers and players were ejected. Wow!

I couldn’t believe I was watching baseball. I kept looking around for ice, skates, and hockey pucks. I posted about it on Facebook, and one of my dear cousins scolded me. According to him, “Both teams were well behaved until you two showed up. Trouble makers. ;)” Apparently, my reputation preceded me.

I assure you I am not to blame. None of those melees was my fault. It was mere coincidence that three brawls broke out while I was at that game, that’s all. I am not a jinx.

You believe me, don’t you?