It is no surprise to anyone that I love Friday the 13th, but to have it arrive the day before my annual Valentine’s Day rant? Chef’s kiss. We are certainly floating in a sea of confected stories here at the end of the world as we know it. Friday the 13th is our day, witches and wannabes. Always has been, which is why it has come to be associated with the implied darkness of all things occult.

Let me tell you a tale, all too common. It starts somewhere near where you live with once upon a time but doesn't end in happily ever after. Because as the statistics overwhelmingly prove, the epidemic of domestic violence in our country - and probably yours too - is beyond crisis point and only getting worse.