caused somewhat by being homesick

I’m staying home from work today. I’ve got this headache and I’ve been really tired and cranky all weekend. I think if I’m not careful I’ll catch that flu that everyone has. I have to be careful, since I’ve only got nine days until this show. It’s raining terribly out there, and I’m sure that I’ll get sick.

It looks like a perfect day to stay home and read and stuff. That’s exactly what I plan on doing.

So I gave out the set list… it seems to be okay… it seems that it will go okay. It may be too long, we may have to cut some things…

Got a call from a friend in the troupe who has been out because his mom was ill. She’s doing much better. I feel a bit like Seinfeld. “I have two friends. One was up, and one was down. Now this one is up and this one is down.” And they don’t know what’s wrong with me but for now it will be fine. I’m Even Steven.

If I have one big fear on this Earth (besides the dark sometimes… I still run from the light to the bed so nothing grabs me in between) it is thunder and lightning.

Lightning to be exact. I am terrified of being struck. See for yourself.

I’ve always known these facts. I know that lightning strikes the earth 60 times a second. I know that it is fatal. What scares me about it is you never know where it’s going to strike. It can hit you at any time. That is terrifying.

This started when I was a little girl and I was fishing with my dad on a boat in the middle of some sort of water. A storm hit, and it started to hail the size of golf balls, and there was a lot of thunder and lightning and it looked like it was hitting the water. Our motor went out on the boat, and we had to paddle in. I was terrified. I thought I was going to fry.

Since then I have been very jumpy during a storm. I am always convinced that if I am outside, I will get hit by lightning. Thunder is a warning to let me know it missed me that time, but next time it’s coming for me.

These are the safety rules for lightning. I get teased for following them, but here they are:

Stay inside unless it is NECESSARY that you leave. Leave your laundry outside and don’t go out to get the mail. When inside, keep away from windows and open doors.Whenever I have to check the mail during a storm, I flip down that little handle with a sock or something, put my hand in there like I’m playing Operation and can’t touch the sides without being shocked, and pull out the mail, and then I run my ass off away from it. I am just a freak.

Stay away from electrical appliances and metal pipes.
I don’t cook anything.

Do not use the telephone.

Why do you think it took so long for me to update? When I was in junior high my friend told me that her mom’s friend was on the phone during a thunderstorm and lightning hit his phone line and it shocked him and his brain swelled up and he died. I am terrified of the same fate.

Do not continue outside activities when a storm is approaching. Metal golf clubs and golf shoes with metal cleats make a golfer an excellent conductor of electricity. Avoid this risk by leaving the golf course when inclement weather is approaching–one more hole might be one too many!

I have never picked up a golf club. I could summon lightning at any time. Too risky.

Stay in your car if you are traveling.
I freak out, but I keep driving during a storm. If I can see where the storm is, I feel safer.

If you are outdoors and cannot seek shelter in a building, move to a ditch or cave.
Usually I run like a freak to our car or the nearest shelter, even when the storm is not that bad. The first sign of lightning and I’m in an open space, I’m gone, man.

Avoid hilltops, metal objects, and wide open spaces that will make you the best conductor in the area.
Understood.

So I have now told you a fear of mine. Please don’t tease me like the others. Just be careful outside there in all that raining and storming. You never know when it’s going to hit…