Ming Diagnosed With Triskaidekaphobia

Many sensitive souls suffer the heartbreak of triskaidekaphobia. The poet, Gabriele D'Annunzio, throughout the year 1913 dated all correspondence 1912 plus 1. The composer, Arnold Schoenberg, at the age of 76(7 plus 6=13), took to bed, depressed over having attained that number. On Friday the 13th of July 1951 he then died 13 minutes before midnight. Don't laugh unless you forgot that evil day of October 3, (10th month and 3 days =13) when Ralph Branca cost the Brooklyn Dodgers the pennant, throwing the ball that let Bobby Thompson hit the winning three run homer. Nor need we even ask what number the ill-fated Branca wore on his uniform that day. More recently, two other losers who like to throw curve balls, Richard Pazdur(13 letters), and von Eschenbach(13 letters), disregarded 13 panel members while validating the four(1 plus 3)naysayers opinions thus denying approval for the life extending immunotherapy, Provenge. They too will go down in the history books for bad pitching on behalf of Big Pharma's team, the dealers in the horrific chemo alternative to Provenge when Dendreon, Provenge's developer, eventually connects with a winning three run homer of its own.