Amy Hauslohner at Roanoke. You can ward off some forms of the evil retributive weather patterns by trying not to enjoy any pleasant days whatsoever, or at least not looking like you're enjoying them.
People observe various fall rituals, some good, some bad.
Mammogram, good fall ritual. Annual getting of the flue brush stuck in the chimney, bad fall ritual. Good luck does not seem to rub off when people shake hands with you. It's more like gritty black stuff. You act like you knew it was there and demonstrate a great superiority of knowledge concerning how you flip that six-volt out of there and stick a new one in without breaking the little plastic ejection arm.