Just like on Halloween, they creep around corners, and jump out on you just when you’re not looking. They have them at the track, and every person that has been to the races at least a dozen times has one. You know, the clerk that gave you the wrong ticket, that drunk at the bar who does that finger snapping noise, or the guy who slaps his ass with the program yelling…. Well, I have to admit. I have a few.

One – I have a pal who loves to watch the races when I bet. He doesn’t wager, he just handicaps at the last minute, and does it very fast. No thinking, just capping and talking. So, there I am watching the race. I have a BIG Pick-Four ticket closing out. He begins to call the race, and scream details about what the top five horses are doing and what the outcome will be. If you have the horse on the outside, and there is one on the inside going neck and neck, he roots for the horse opposite of yours. He doesn’t bet, he just wants to be right. The biggest part is that he can’t stand to see anyone win, except him. But, he doesn’t wager. So what does this cat win? – Blaaaaaack cat!!

Two – The friend in need. Have you ever been having the day of your life? Then out of the thin air appears a bad-luck black cat… He doesn’t have much money left, and he somehow knows you have been winning. He starts the conversation with, “Hey, can you lend me $50?” Hell, you want to give him $100 just to disappear. No questions asked… So you drop him a few bucks, and PRESTO! The cat wants to hang with you…. The race you have been waiting for is coming, and he starts begging for a winner. He feels you are rolling, and he wants on the wheel. But, things start going sour. A second, then two, and then out of the money…. The black cat seems to disappear just when you are losing a bit. You don’t have to say a word. They can smell it on you…. Blaaaaaack cat!!!!

Three – The pusher man…. No, not like the Curtis Mayfield song, but one who tries in vain to get you to bet his horse…. He has some steam that his mother’s friend’s, sister’s cousin, neighbor’s milkman gave him…. He talks until you go mad.. If you bet, he will still be running next week. If he wins and you are not on it, he owns you for the next three years talking trash…. There is no win here, and you start thinking you are in a cartoon, or being taped for a movie…  Blaaaaaaaack cat!!!!!!!

So, take a walk, get a hot dog, and find yourself… Take a deep breath, and know that there is no such thing as Black Cats…. Or is there???