For the record

Regarding my previous post:

They say your odds of getting struck by lightning are better than winning the lottery. So I'm not sure why I went on a lottery ticket buying binge after my little shock. I gave up when I realized that the odds of both getting stuck by lightning AND winning the lottery must be infinitesimal.

I didn't seek medical attention at the time. A few years later, I began having heart rhythm problems and it didn't immediately occur to me that the two could be related. I sheepishly mentioned the lightning to my doctor while being treated and he was all, um, hello? Duh.

As my hair thins, people often ask if I sunburned my scalp if they see the top of my head, when I definitely have not. Apparently my baldspot is pretty red -- right where I was zapped. I have no idea if the two are related.

I don't know the exact date it happened -- it seemed like the sort of thing I would never forget and I never wrote it down. 10 years on, all I know is it was in February.

I'm fairly certain that I did not experience the main lightning strike. Electrical current traveled through me, no doubt, but my guess is that the bolt either bounced off a nearby tree, or that I just got in the way of one of the little feeder bolts.

My former zeal for thunderstorms was somewhat diminished for a while. When visiting my Dad in Cheyenne in late spring and early summer, I'd sit tensely on the couch downstairs, my heart skipping a beat with each flash and clap of thunder, where before I'd have been standing under the eaves watching the show.

I don't tell the story much. The opportunity to talk about it doesn't arise frequently, and when it does, I can recognize that look of skepticism on people's faces.

I still have the umbrella.

I cannot bend spoons with my mind. I tried.