Lucky Coin

Sometimes lucky coins work, and sometimes they don't work until later.

So I didn't get that job I really wanted. I thought the interview went swimmingly, but I suppose you never really know what someone is looking for. When I left the interview I felt pretty good about it, I didn't stumble over myself nearly as much as I could have considering I had three people staring, smiling, and nodding at me as they furiously scribbled down who-knows-what kind of notes. I even thought I answered all the questions thoroughly, but hey -- if I'm not the one, I'm not the one.

A few days before my interview my dad told me a story about my great-great-grandmother, Valli Walker. When she was a little girl Valli and her family trekked across the country, through Oklahoma and on to Texas. As the around 8-year-old Valli was walking through the then Cherokee territory, she glanced down and saw something shiny. Valli had found a $20 gold coin. Her father, instead of claiming it as his own, told Valli it was her lucky coin and she should never, ever spend it.

The tiny home in West Texas where Valli would eventually live as an adult. My grandma lived here with Valli when she was a little girl, while her mother went to California to pick fruit. 

Valli gave it to her daughter, who gave it to my grandmother, who gave it to my father. My dad said surely such a coin would bring me luck in the very place it was found. It was my destiny, he told me. In fact, he was so confident the coin would work, he knew they were going to call me the morning after and offer me a job! Of course, my dad said he'd polish the coin for good measure.

As time marched on through the week, I realized they had called somebody else to give them the good news I had wanted. I was seriously disappointed, and I must embarrassingly admit I cried. My hopes were high, and I had prayed that fortune, even Valli's fortune, would be on my side.

The thin walls of Valli's house, the decaying but beautiful wallpaper, Cottonwood trees Valli had planted (and my dad) on the property, and the inside of one of the rooms.

I'm not going to say it didn't work...but that coin hasn't worked yet. But, like the other words of wisdom my dad has told me, the more fishing rods you put out, the easier it is to catch a fish. Even though I'll be applying to places like crazy again, here's to believing in good luck and working to make a bit of my own.

Always,