Posted on June 2, 2016 by Bernadette Nason
I’ve been saying, “White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit” first thing on the first day of every month since I was tiny. According to my lovely mum, mentioning white rabbits x 3 first thing on the first day of the month brings good luck for the rest of the month. There’s a long list of variations (some folks simply say, “Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit”) but that was how we did it.
As a child, staying up until midnight to say the rabbits “first thing” was something of an adventure, not as exciting as a birthday or Christmas or even Guy Fawkes Night but still a bit of a thrill. More often than not though, I’d go to bed at a normal time with the reminder, before turning off the light, “Don’t forget ‘White Rabbit’ in the morning.” It has to be the first thing, you see, or it doesn’t work. Sometimes, Mum would wake me at the crack of dawn and before I had a chance to mumble, “Is it morning?” or “What day is it?” or “Why are you waking me so EARLY?!” she’d put her finger on her lips, “Shhh…” and mime, “White rabbit” so I could say it out loud before going about my busy day: climbing trees, starting clubs, diminishing my sister’s confidence to put her in therapy for life.
I got in late last night from a swell gig sharing the bill at the Bastrop Celtic Festival Grand Finale with the wonderful Ed Miller. Name-dropping? You bet your life! Check out his shows “Across the Water” and “Folkways” on KUT.org. Being that it was March 31 and so close to midnight, it was surely best to hang on ’til the witching hour so as to ensure I said it first thing. Now, was it a mistake to enjoy a martini (3 olives) so late in the day? Perhaps. Because the next thing I knew, the clock said 12:30 a.m. or, depending on your frame of reference, “You missed it, sucker!” Good luck for a month versus a martini (3 olives)? Oh Life, what a precarious, problematic balancing act you present.
White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit