CANDLELIT CHRONICLES: HISTORIC HAUNTS

Dec. 21

I think the planet Uranus (or Arun in the Hindi) which is said to rule lightning, electrical disturbances, and nuclear power, must be parked squarely above my head.


Two weeks ago today my 3-year-old grandson baked a Hot Wheels in the microwave. Luckily he came crying to me in the living room, and I got to the kitchen in time to turn it off, unplug it, pull out the tray and dunk it in a sink full of water, and carry the microwave outside. No damage other than the Hot Wheels and a few hours of unpleasant odor.


In the last 6 days:


fuses blown on two separate days


son-in-law's monitor burnt out with a horrid scorching smell


son-in-law's motherboard failed


plumbing overflows


kitchen sink pipes failed, resulting in wet floor


yesterday the Internet went out 8 times in four hours, and


the phone lines somehow switched over so that the line with caller ID and voicemail isn't working and the line without it is


today the electricity went out from 9 am to noon


I really, really wish Arun would decide to move on and go bug somebody else-


maybe on some other planet.


Well, maybe soon, because Mars is supposed to be at its incredibly red brightness on Christmas Eve night


and then be struck by an asteroid on Jan. 30, with the impact of the one that hit Siberia in 1908.