Plugged Into the "Electric People" and Breakfast Skillet

The computer tech just left again.  He’s been here so often recently that we’re going to have to start picking out china patterns.

As I was writing him a check, I was telling him that I have a history of computers crashing and appliances going south as soon as I touch them. When I worked for a major computer company, the IT tech there actually said that he believed that I’d warped a PC screen in my office, which I dismissed as ridiculous. I was surprised when this tech this morning said he’s known other people who had shared similar experiences and I should check the Internet and see what I could find.  More surprising yet, I found websites wrapped around this subject.  It seems they’re called “electric people”.  Interesting.  One phenomenon they seem to share is that they emit a high amount of energy or heat which people around them can feel.  Light bulbs explode at will in their vicinity and computers, in particular, seem to crash after they’ve used them. Cue eerie music please. I know that when I’m sleeping with someone next to me, I can guarantee that within minutes they’ll complain about being too warm and move over.  Here I thought it was just me.  Smile.

Finding this interesting, my other half and I sat down and wrote a list of appliances, etc. that we’ve replaced or repaired since we bought our house ten years ago.  We’re on our third dishwasher.  Two years ago we replaced the stove with a higher-end model that has twice had to have the entire heating mechanism replaced and still at this point only has three out of four burners working despite repeated attempts to make it work.  There are three refrigerators in the house, two upstairs and one on the third floor in the recreation room.  That one works the best.  Maybe it’s because it’s two floors down from me.  One could get a complex if pursuing this line of thought to its logical conclusion.  The newer of the two up here, and neither are old, one to have the entire refrigeration system replaced six months after we bought it, the second needed a new ice maker after one year of service.  This is our second laptop.  The first one arrived and seemed to work.  After several days of use it showed up with a blue screen and went to a place where computers go to die. This one we’ve had for three months and just got it back from the manufacturer with a new hard drive as the old one was unexplainably fried.

I wonder often if this has anything to do with my being caught in that huge electrical storm in Utah.  I wrote about it when I first began blogging, but to reiterate, in the summer of 1990 my husband at the time and I were en route to a construction job in Ashdown, Arkansas.  In Utah, we passed through Salt Lake City and on a mountain crest stopped to refuel and head down into the valley floor below.   On that stretch of highway I found myself in the midst of the most incredible electrical storm I have ever seen.  It was late evening when we began our descent.  Signs posted indicated there were no services of any kind for 125 miles.  Besides the pounding rain, the flat valley was literally lit up like a bank Christmas tree as forks of lightning reached out from the dark skies spiking towards the ground below.  It was at the same time amazing and terrifying. 

My husband’s old Ford truck took the lead, and I followed in our car accompanied by our dog and cat. As the rain worsened, visibility became so impossible that I lost sight of the old Ford on the road ahead.  In truth, I can rarely remember being quite so afraid.  I’m a little chick, but fairly wiry and have dealt with many things throughout my lifetime, but this was definitely a nine on my scale of ten on things I wouldn’t choose to do again.  There were a number of semis on the highway and as they passed they were strewing mud on my windshield.  Finally unable to see at all, I saw no option but to pull over.  Grabbing the only thing I had to wipe the windshield with, a pair of shorts, I stepped out into that strange night.  Lightening struck just up the hillside from me and was close enough to me that I could smell the ozone in the air.

Quickly wiping the mud off the window I got back into the relative safety of my car.  Freezing, I calmed the animals and merged back on the road.  My knees were knocking together so hard that I could hardly keep my foot on the accelerator.  About ten miles ahead I saw my husband’s truck pulled over to the side.   I pulled up directly behind him. After a brief conversation, and  sharing relief in having found one another we agreed to get off at the next off ramp advertising food and lodging.  Finally pulling off, we stopped at a convenience store for a cup of coffee.  I needed to use the loo so I did, and while washing my hands caught my reflection in the mirror.  It seemed that my hair was sticking straight up in the air.  When I tried to brush it down I got a shock.  After that, strange things began to happen. I knew who was calling on the phone before I answered, and suddenly ”sensed” things about people’s lives just by touching them.  Maybe I got zapped and never knew it.

That night we stayed in a motel that had been converted from what had been a group of self-storage units.  It was the strangest place, but I wouldn’t have cared if it had been converted from a dairy farm as long as it was dry and out of the weather.  The rooms were long and thin, naturally, with a bathroom located at the far back. Ironically, the beds were like the kind of beds you’d find at your grandmother’s house right down to the down comforters and brass headboards. Maybe they were retreived from the original storage pods.

Tired and hungry, and obviously not calling room service for dinner on wheels, we braved the elements once more and found a truck stop that was open all night.  As it was now well into the early morning hours we opted for breakfast and ate enough to make a trucker blush.

I guess I should consider myself lucky.  With the time that I spend with my stomach pressed against the stove, at least three burners have survived.

Breakfast Skillet

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup butter
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. bulk breakfast sausage
1/3 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (optional)
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet saute mushrooms and onion in butter until lightly browned. Add ground beef and sausage, crumbled. Stir to break up pieces into small crumbles. Cook until meat is cooked through. Drain on paper towels and return to skillet. Stir in spinach and Ro-Tel tomatoes (optional). Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in eggs and continue cooking until eggs are lightly set. Using large spatula turn over and continue cooking 1-2 mins. until firm. This is really good served with home fries.

Serves 4