Three

          My daughter called the other day. She was not having a good day. Her computer had stopped working. The garbage disposal broke and the car wouldn’t start.  Her comment?  It’s funny how things seem to happen in three’s.

          When I thought about it, she was right. Events, both good and bad, often happen in groups of three. I can think of a number of illustrations to prove the point. Here are some of my favorites.

         There are several sports references that are built upon the number 3. Baseball’s three strikes and you’re out or the basketball shot from 3 point range. In ice hockey, three goals by the same person is called a ‘hat trick’. And if the home team wins, it’s 3 cheers for them.  Hip, hip, hooray!

         There are also non-sports related references. Three’s company or three’s a crowd is quite common. God forbid if your two best friends ask you out and you end up being the ‘third wheel’!  Great, you get to be the designated driver.

          If you watch children playing and there are only three, one is usually left out, at least for the moment and before long feelings end up being hurt. Parents, take note. There should always be at least more than three invited to the birthday party! And in gym class in school, what’s this counting off by 3’s. Coach, you know Robert can’t count past 2.

          Now we all remember the 3 “Rs”, right? Then there are the three square meals a day. What’s a square meal anyhow? 

          One of my personal favorites is the ‘three bricks shy of a load’. Somehow I don’t think that is a reference to a truck load of bricks.  Is that really how you describe your sister’s new boy friend? Or maybe you are referring to his behavior at the New Year’s Eve party, ‘three sheets to the wind’.

          Now there is the 3-ring circus and the 3-ring binder. Why not 2 or 4? In a poker game, there is three of a kind; not a bad hand. Sure beats two of a kind but not a full house.  Even in music, the number 3 appears. There is ‘Three Coins in a Fountain’ or ‘Three Blind Mice’. Poor things. 

          At a recent auction there were some coins being sold that were said to be from a sunken treasure. They were as ‘phony as a three dollar bill’.  And have you ever watched a con-man move the shells around in a shell game. There are only three shells and you still can’t find the pea.

          By now you probably would like to have 3 wishes, the first being that I bring a conclusion to this week’s column.  But I have just one more thought for you to consider. When things are not going well for you, try again and maybe one more time, because the ‘third time is often the charm’.