At The MGM after Patricia Smith, Detroit 2007 I'm in line for the ATM behind a woman, who – earlier, on the casino floor – was stroking a blue-haired troll doll for good luck. & I guess it'd be funny if it stopped there; if she hadn't kicked & banged the slot machine next to mine, abandoned by the goddess of good fortune like my friend Mikey's mom, throwing what she could at the boy, chasing him around a house she lost to a fire from his carelessness. What if 20 minutes was all it took to lose $800, like the guy at the craps table – superstition urging him for fives face up on each dice before they're tossed over the green, felt surface.     - Alan King