LOUISVILLE, Ky. — "Keep Louisville Weird" is a call to Louisvillians to continue buying local to preserve our unique culture.
On a day like Friday the 13th, it only made sense to go talk to some of our local business owners who sell some superstitious supplies.
Fear can be a funny thing. They aren't afraid of their own livelihood, but everyone has their jitters.
"In my lifetime, I've probably walked under hundreds of ladders," said Jim Lehrer, with a smile. He's the owner of Brownsboro hardware.
They don't sell a ton of ladders, but they're all over the store.
"I don't have a problem walking under a ladder," Jim said. "I don't go out of my way to avoid it, but we have a lot of customers who do and go out of their way to avoid it."
Even Jim, who says he's "fine so far" despite bucking the superstition of ladder luck, has something that scares him... or, someone.
"We've experienced a ghost at our house," said Jim, referring to he and his wife. "So, I believe in ghosts. I've seen her once."
Down Brownsboro lane, cutting through to Shelbyville, you'll find Norman Glass and Framing. Helen Rosenbaum and her husband Richard own the 70 year old business, and know some of their customers fear the years of bad luck associated with broken mirrors.
"I dont have the superstition," Helen said. "So, thank goodness or we'd be in big trouble."
There is one thing that Helen always remembers to do though.
"If I go out the door, I always remember to come in the same door, or visa versa," she said. "Other than that, I think that's the only thing I have a little superstition."
With a goal of helping kitties get out the door of the shelter, and not come back in the door, Purrfect Day Cat Cafe has their own superstitions to deal with.
"We all love black cats here," Robert Mason, Top Cat (manager) said. "We certainly don't think they're unlucky."
He says the rumors about black cats and adoption rates are all a bunch of hocus pocus. They're just as loved, and frequently adopted, as all other cats.
As for his superstitions, he said there's none, and he'll leave the worrying to everyone else.
"Everybody can believe what they want to believe," he said. "We're in a free country right?"
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