Do Bad Things Always Come In Threes?

A Trio of Pumps, Shamrock, Texas by Jann Alexander ©2015

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That depends. Are you superstitious? I don't think of myself as especially superstitous, but I do pay attention to things that come in threes. Like the trio of gas pumps in my photo of the Magnolia Gas Station in Shamrock, Texas.

Using the power of three in photography always makes a picture better. Call it impact, order, or balance, images rely on what's pleasing to the eye. And the eye likes seeing things in threes. Take this 1930s cardboard suitcase, a treasure carried by Ruby Lee Becker in my historical novel, Unspoken, packed with three stacks of books and ready for a book club meeting or a presentation on the Hidden History of the Texas Dust Bowl. It's a trio of books that is pleasing, orderly, balanced.

A Trio of Books, Stacked by Jann Alexander ©2015

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That said, it’s no secret that bad things come in threes. When you step off the sidewalk and get slammed by a bus, you’d better be on the lookout for the next two things. Once they do happen, you can sigh in relief. That trio of bad things is over.

But oftentimes, good things come in threes. Say you’re driving along Route 66 in 1938, and you just crossed the Oklahoma state line into Texas, and your Nash Coupe is about to run out of gas. You’ll be delighted to pull into this Magnolia gas station in Shamrock, Texas, where you can take your pick from the trio of pumps ready to serve. 

Here's a good thing in threes I am grateful for: This comparison to Texas classsics that puts Unspoken among the ranks of Giant and The Time It Never Rained, from the dean of Texas history, W.F. Strong, creator of the Stories from Texas podcast. Give it a listen.