[Scoutmaster]

I have a few pieces of alebrije in my office (along with Millard Fillmore memorabilia, a check for Texas bar dues from 1884, too much Scouting stuff to count, a barber's clock that runs backwards - you know, the usual stuff). One of the pieces is a duende. It looks somewhat like this, but red:

Anyhoo, about ten years ago I notice that my office hadn't been cleaned or vacuumed in a couple of days. After a few more, I commented on it to the floor supervisor.

Turns out there had been a change in the cleaning crew and the lady who was cleaning my side of the floor was Haitian and believed in Santería. She saw the duende in my office and thought I was into some bad juju. She wouldn't enter my office.

They switched her to a different floor and everything was fine.

True story. The end.

[NicknamedBob]

"They switched her to a different floor and everything was fine."

Except that you're still into the bad juju.

[Tax-chick]

Cool. I had a print of Whistler’s “Girl in White” and Da Vinci’s “Ginevra de Benci” in my office. I would turn Ginevra around sometimes because she looked like she was thinking I was fat.

[Silentgypsy]

I knew some people who practiced Santeria and tried to extort stuff from me by virtue of the eye-rolling ferocious stares (giggle.) I’m still here. I don’t know where they are now. Now, bad juju is another thing entirely....
P.S. That is a very attractive duende.

[null and void]

a check for Texas bar dues from 1884

You're older than we thought...