I read an article a few days ago explaining the sorry state of the Washington Redskins. It seems the team has had a curse placed on it by Jay Winter Nightwolf, an American Indian. Apparently it wasn’t a genuine American Indian curse, but more of a ceremonial prayer. The curse or ceremonial prayer simply says that the Redskins won’t have any good luck until they change their name. Whatever Nightwolf did, it seems to be working — and — the solution seems pretty simple. Of course I thought I had a pretty simple solution to all their problems — change the owner.
Well, anyhow, this got me to thinking about curses. Curses have always fascinated me — they are, at the very least interesting and almost all cultures have some form of a curse. Depending on the society, they may be called a jinx, execration, hex, witchcraft, magic, voodoo, or other things. But they all pretty much express a wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will attach to a person, place or thing.
Lots of curses are pretty famous, or at least well known, like the curse of the Bambino. This one refers to the run of bad luck the Boston Red Sox experienced after trading Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees early in his career. Up until that time, the Yankees had never won a World Series — after Ruth arrived, they obviously did. After the trade, the Red Sox didn’t win the World Series again until 2004. An interesting sidelight of that series is that during the winning game, a total lunar eclipse occurred — that had never happened before during a World Series. And, of course, the win was against the New York Yankees. Maybe we all saw the lifting of the curse……
People old enough to remember James Dean will remember that he was killed while driving a silver Porsche 550 Spyder in 1955. Within about a year, after the crash, the car was involved in two more fatal accidents. The car was repaired and sold and while getting a tune-up, “Little Bastard,” as James Dean had named the car, fell on a mechanic’s legs and broke them. Little Bastard’s shell was taken on the exhibition circuit and supposedly the truck carrying it crashed and killed the driver — and — Little Bastard was gone by the time authorities arrived on the scene. I ain’t sayin nothin, but if you see a silver Porsched Spyder on the road, you might want to give it some extra room…..
Even Superman has a curse – it refers to the misfortunes that occurred to people involved with the Superman story over the years. George Reeves, who played Superman in the television series committed suicide and Christopher Reeve, who played the character in the early movies, became paralyzed after falling from a horse.
The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats and besides its size, clarity and beauty it’s most famous for bringing misfortune to its owner. A man named Tavernier made a trip to India and while there, stole the diamond from the forehead, or eye, of a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita. Tavernier was torn apart by wild dogs on a trip to Russia (after he had sold the diamond.) Kind Louis XVI is probably the most famous owner of the diamond and he was ultimately beheaded along with his wife Queen Marie Antoinette. It’s currently on display at the Smithsonian — I’ve seen it, but I didn’t stand too close…..
One of the more interesting curses is the curse of Tippecanoe or Tecumseh’s curse. William Henry Harrison won the presidency in 1840 with the slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” (The slogan referred to Harrison’s participation in the Battle of Tippecanoe.) One year later, William Henry Harrison died. From then (1840) until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, every president elected in a year ending in a zero died while serving their term as President. If you don’t believe me, look it up: 1840 – Harrison – natural causes; 1860 – Lincoln – shot; 1880 – Garfield – shot; 1900 – Mckinley – shot; 1920 – Harding – natural causes; 1940 – Roosevelt – natural causes; 1960 – Kennedy – shot. Ronald Reagan ended the streak, but just barely — Reagan was shot while in office, but survived….
So — if good fortune always seems to escape your grasp, maybe…. These things have been wreaking hypothetical havoc for centuries and no one knows for sure, but the odds are you probably haven’t been cursed. Of course, I’ve heard it said that every blessing ignored becomes a curse….
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