As a child, I was a never-ending source of grief for my mama. Not only was I a tomboy, but my curiosity more often than not landed me in a whole heap of trouble.
One afternoon, when I was four, Mama invited our neighbor over for a visit. They sat in two comfy chairs in the living room, drinking coffee and eating one of Mama’s favorite company desserts while they chatted.
For no particular reason, I got a notion to climb up on the floor lamp that stood between their two chairs. It had a sturdy wooden pole with three lights under a barrel shade at the top.
I shimmied up the pole and discovered the hard way that one of the light sockets was missing a bulb.
Every light in the house flickered while the electric current took a detour through me. My muscles contracted so tight I thought my bones would break. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let go of that pole.
Mama danced around, screaming like a banshee. Thank God the neighbor had the good sense to unplug the lamp cord before I turned to toast.
My body dropped to the floor, limp as a dishrag. I felt like one of Mama’s fried pies. I swear my hair smelled like it was singed all the way to the roots.
After checking to see that I was still breathing, Mama was beside herself. She couldn’t decide whether to give me a whippin’ for scaring the bejeezus out of her or console me with a pile of my favorite cookies.
The cookies finally won out—I reckon she knew there’d be plenty more opportunities in my future for whippin’s.
Overall, I wasn’t too worse for the wear—my brain didn’t seem to be any more scrambled than usual. But we had the dickens of a time trying to get my hair to stay down. Mama finally tied a scarf around my head so I wouldn’t keep scaring the dog.
I steered clear of electrical appliances for a long spell after that electrifying experience. And to this very day, I’m fanatical about keeping all the light sockets filled with bulbs—whether they work or not.
Recipes included with this story: Fried Fruit Pies, Fresh Apple Cake (recipe on this blog), Zucchini Bread (recipe on this blog), Cowboy Cookies
Order print version for $7.95 from Amazon.com
Order E-Book for $2.99 from Amazon.com
Recipes included with this story: Fried Fruit Pies, Fresh Apple Cake (recipe on this blog), Zucchini Bread (recipe on this blog), Cowboy Cookies
Order print version for $7.95 from Amazon.com
Order E-Book for $2.99 from Amazon.com
