I think a lot of people saw the bus safety videos in school with the huge accidents happening from not paying attention – in one a girl was run over by the bus, in another a kid sliced his neck open – pretty nasty stuff. Especially given that I was already kind of a fraidy cat. Scary TV and movies just weren’t my thing back then.
When I was in eighth grade, the trains from my suburb to NYC were upgraded to include a third rail to power the trains. In the great tradition of those bus safety videos, we got videos showing us how you would be electrocuted if you went near the third rail. Those were closely followed by some other videos on the dangers of lightning.
After those “educational” videos, I was certainly scared. My friends and I would throw candy down at the third rail, just waiting to see something sizzle. I had nightmares about stepping on the third rail and not being grounded properly, the whole concept of only being safe if electricity ran straight through your body freaked me out to no end.
Not that I needed scaring, electricity already had me scared enough, in the form of lightning. I’d spent every summer of my life in a pool, and knew full well what happened at the very first rumble of thunder. Lifeguards started screaming to get out of the pool. You were going to get electrocuted!!
I don’t know how many months or years later, but one night, I was on the phone in a room upstairs in my house. My house was set back somewhat from the road, and surrounded by big, tall trees. It was thundering and lightning out, but I was a teenage girl, and someone was on the phone.
The phone was wired, of course, no wireless yet, and set directly next to a window facing the trees.
I started jabbering away, and tried not to pay attention to the thunder and lighting. I distinctly remember turning my back on the window so I wouldn’t see the lightning. But then I heard and felt a huge “pop” in my ear…and the lights went out. I was fine, it was just some static thing, and it was hardly uncommon for us to lose power during a storm. Regardless, I was very spooked.
There have been lots of other incidents like that since – all coincidences that I’m translating as scary, I know. I’m that person who powers down everything the second there’s a storm. Or at least, I did when I lived in Virginia, my building was the tallest around, and was regularly hit by lightning during a storm. Our power would go out for a second or two, then back on, but even that was enough to make me worry about my electronics. I’m not so sure I have to worry about huge thunderstorms in LA.
That’s my thing. I hate lightning, am freaked out by the idea of electrical currents, and anyone who knows me has probably seen me turn green at the sound of thunder. Someday I’ll get over it, maybe. But first, I need to settle things with Tom Baker.
