My Lucky Necklace

For the past eight years I have worn a silver yucca blossom pendant that Dave bought for me at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar in Austin. Besides my wedding ring, it's the only piece of jewelry I consistently wear, and I have become superstitious about it (if I don't wear it something bad will happen). A week and half ago on Saturday, Jessie was twisting the chain and it broke. I didn't have a replacement chain so I stopped wearing the pendant...

On Monday, I overdrew the checking account.

On Tuesday the cat died. Tuesday night lightning struck the studio and took out the new fax/copier/scanner, and the alarm panel.

Wednesday I discovered the fried alarm panel was blocking the phone lines and I had to spend over two solid hours on the phone with the alarm company and ended up manually rewiring the entire panel for our house AND recabling the DSL connections after that.

Thursday Dave called to tell me the dryer was broken (not heating). I was in Philly.

Friday I overdrew the checking account AGAIN (this time--like last month--by depositing a check from a business account book that I had canceled after the burglary. Where do these books keep coming from?!?).

Saturday Jessie took a really bad fall on her scooter and wouldn't let Dave touch it to clean it. She called me and asked me to drive home *right now* to be with her. I had to explain that I flew to Philly and wouldn't be able to be home till Tuesday. Three days to a six year-old might as well be eternity. Then she asked if I would get her some small crutches. It was an ugly couple of days.

Sunday I figured out what was going on and started wearing a red enamel-coated steel peace sign pendant made by Jeff Manpearl of Ferroglyphs as a stand-in for the lucky necklace until I can get a new chain. Things have held steady since.

The moral of the story? Don't ignore your inner superstitious peasant.