La Bruja

Fifteen years ago, I was in my office on the Friday before Labor Day.  That was a day I always associated with some pressure to finish something.  It falls not only at the end of a month, but also the following Monday is a holiday resulting in a short week thereafter.

I had someone scheduled to come in.  Her name:  C H, and she brought in a lawsuit for her company.  I didn't know much about it at the time, of course.  The deadline to avoid default judgment was Monday.  I didn't know if it would extend the date automatically until Tuesday, she seems worried, so I got a basic answer out that day which resulted in a timely filing.

That case would go on to haunt me for years.  Over ten years in fact.  I used to say that she and I had an anniversary on that date.  Throughout the case went through insurance claims, insurance denials, expansions and contractions, more lawsuit, bankruptcy, dissolution, deaths, new lives.

Finally I decided that the problem was with me.  I should have never acted on such impulse, driven by a desire to fix something that was not a problem of my doing.  But the pressure of that day just got to me.

So I have since decided that that Friday before Labor Day is an unlucky day and that any work is best avoided.  Thereafter I do not work on that day.  One day will not make a difference in the long run.

The Mayan Calendar is divided into 18 months of 20 days each.  The other 5 days are a separate month named Wayeb which are the unlucky days.  So the concept of an unlucky day is nothing new.

Here in the Valley perhaps the Mayan influence and the unlucky days is still prevalent.  In fact, one theory I have thought is that C H is a Bruja ( a witch).  Not evil or bad, but with some supernatural aura or power.  It's possible.  And with powers that you don't understand, it's best to keep your distance.