Swung by the place to check on it this afternoon and wasn't I pleasantly surprised to find it being toured by prospects. I spotted the scene and left without introducing myself, figuring that the last two such folks I spoke to didn't put an offer down on the place, so maybe, just maybe, I should avoid direct contact with them. There is, after all, a reason that one hires an agent to do the selling!

Speaking of which, I found out today from my agent in New York that supposedly, if you bury a statue of St. Joseph in your yard, your house will sell. I went a-Googling and predictably, found these:
http://www.stjosephstatue.com/trad.htm
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20040831a1.asp

I see no reason why this is so much different from indulgences, except that the sellers of the statues are not clergymen. It comes down to this: do something (pay, do, etc.) in exchange for favors from the divine, which you may or may not get. What fundamentally is the difference between that and the ancient Roman approach to this kind of relationship between the gods and men, except in that the Romans waited until after their prayers were answered (or not) before opening the big wallet?

But just to be safe, I am going to head for the nearest Catholic supplies store tomorrow and get a-diggin' so St. Joseph will be all nice and settled in five inches down into my yard for the open house on Sunday. I mean, if it works, it works, and that's good enough for me. I'm nothing if not eminently practical. :)