Rabbit Rabbit

Welcome to February, dear readers! If you recall last year, I told you all about how I started Fun February; the point being to pack as many fun things into the month of February as possible, so it passes quickly to arrive at spring and good weather. I was working to develop an article with little road trips for you, so I googled “Weird things to do in Alabama.”

I landed on 10 Weird Things in Alabama at onlyinyourstate.com by Jennifer Young. I had heard of a few of these, but some were new. Here they are, and I do think they are worth exploring:

Culture Shock

a very old superstition that can be traced back to all regions of the world in different cultures. All the variations of the tale involved specific things about the donor rabbit himself: where he was killed; what item was used to kill him; or if he was killed by a person possessing a certain attribute. Sort of like the board game, Clue

Some said it had to be the left hind foot or the rabbit had to be killed in a cemetery. Some said the deed must be committed during a full moon, while others said the new moon. Fridays, rainy Fridays and Friday the 13th were all options. Maybe it should be killed with a silver bullet or the foot cut off while the rabbit was still alive. The common thread is that it’s a good omen.

The last one, Boll Weevil Monument gave me pause and

10 Weird Things in Alabama

n Museum of Wonder – Seale, AL n Barber Marina Dinosaurs – Elberta, AL n Pickens County Courthouse – Carrollton, AL n Rock Zoo – Hollywood, AL n Whiskey Bottle Tombstone – Clayton, AL n Joe Minter’s African Village in America –Birmingham, AL n Grave of Miss Baker – Huntsville, AL n Sallie Howard Memorial Chapel – Mentone, AL n Coon Dog Cemetery – Cherokee, AL n Boll Weevil Monument – Enterprise, AL a laugh. I could write a whole article on a trip to see the Boll Weevil Monument that involved Matt Hare, my grandfather and whiskey. My grandfather was the type of man who would attack that list with glee and happily drive through the night just to see an oddity. He was quite curious.

I didn’t set out to write about rabbits, but that’s really where this essay is heading. I’ve always believed in magic. Do I believe in luck? Sure. I also believe you make your own luck.

When I was child, we took a field trip to Desoto Caverns (add that to your list if you have never been), and I bought a rabbit’s foot key chain in the gift shop. It was dyed bright blue. It was fuzzy, and I thought it was cute. I do remember rubbing it a lot, and I did clip it onto backpacks.

I have not thought about my rabbit’s foot in a long time.

I googled it, and apparently, there’s a lot of folklore and history surrounding rabbits and luck. To paraphrase from my research (ala Wikipedia and history.com), the rabbit’s foot is

President Franklin D. Roosevelt reportedly carried one and said the word ‘rabbit’ on the first of the month. There’s no real one story on why rabbits are lucky, but one take on it was that they are fertile creatures (there are plenty of sayings about that!) and thus heavily associated with spring and renewal. That makes sense as to why we have the Easter Bunny (an ancient symbol of fertility and new life) and why rabbits are so often featured in nursery rhymes and children’s tales.

Now that I think about it, I say “I hate rabbits” to make campfire smoke blow in a different direction away from me. I don’t recall where I first heard that, but I do say it. It does work.

And is it a coincidence that I made early mention of my Grandaddy and Matt Hare (Hare/ Rabbit ... see?) who I also saw in Walmart yesterday? Therefore, I do not think it is by accident that I wrote this on Jan. 31. So, tomorrow on Feb. 1. The first words I say will be, ‘rabbit rabbit.’

~ Lacey Howell is a recovering English major from Auburn who now lives on Lake Martin, sells real estate, rides horses and loves good wine. Follow her on Instagram@ LaceyHowell and on her Facebook page.