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Friday, July 20, 2007
Zapped!

Posted by: Amelia // Category: Cruel Games, Good Questions, Technological Advances // 12:02 pm

It’s no secret that the Wren’s Nest has seen better days. While we’re on the up-and-up (for real), certain elements leave something to be desired. Take, for example, my recent trip to the bathroom.

Walking around barefoot, as I often do (pretend it’s to preserve the carpets, if you must), I realized nature called. I headed into the bathroom, took care of business, and was standing at the sink when I felt a painful sting in my elbow. “Ow!” I yelped.

I then noticed that the light switch chain was right at elbow height. Assuming the little bell-shaped end was sharp, I took hold of the chain to get a closer look.

Bad move. It hurt, oh! it hurt. I called Lain in and, slightly bewildered and certainly afraid, said, “Lain? I think I was just mildly electrocuted.”

Lightning

(If we can somehow… *harness* this lightning… *channel* it… into the flux capacitor… it just might work.)

Lain, ever the comfort, replied, “Oh yeah. That happens to me a lot when I’m not wearing shoes.” Lain then nonchalantly wrapped his hand in his shirt, turned off the light, and I proceeded to wash my hands in the dark.

I can see why Joel Chandler Harris was wary of electricity. And bathrooms.

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11 Comments


  1. Deb
    Comment // July 20th, 2007 // 12:51 pm

    Wait, JCH was wary of bathrooms? I mean, I can understand electricity, but bathrooms? Ick…


  2. Joe S.
    Comment // July 20th, 2007 // 1:19 pm

    Is that why he looks so grumpy in some of his pictures?


  3. Amelia
    Comment // July 20th, 2007 // 2:29 pm

    Not so much of bathrooms, per se, but of indoor plumbing. So much so that the only bathroom JCH allowed at the house was built on a porch. He used it… twice.


  4. Deb
    Comment // July 20th, 2007 // 2:47 pm

    Really?? Why was he wary of indoor plumbing?? Was he afraid snakes would come up the pipes and bite him? That is truly bizarre.


  5. John
    Comment // July 20th, 2007 // 5:06 pm

    Is there a record of that?

    Nice.


  6. ATL
    Comment // July 21st, 2007 // 10:50 am

    Indoor plumbing was the new-fangled thing, Deb, and JCH liked to stick with what he knew. Hence all the light fixtures in the house being equipped for both gas AND electric, for when that danged “electricity” fad passed.

    John, ask Lain about that one. He’s the bookkeeper, after all.


  7. lain
    Comment // July 21st, 2007 // 1:39 pm

    I just know what Miss Nannie tells me, and I don’t ask questions.

    She doesn’t let me.


  8. Carson
    Comment // August 6th, 2007 // 4:46 pm

    That sneaky little chain got me every time! Even when I WAS wearing shoes. It certainly made going to the bathroom a tad more exciting.

    Ok, back to catching up with this blog I have missed oh-so-much.

    FWNIC (Former Wren’s Nest Intern Carson)


  9. The Wren’s Nest » Err, of course we didn’t forget!
    Pingback // October 12th, 2007 // 11:29 am

    […] Just when you thought we couldn’t get any fancier, we went ahead and got FLUSH port-a-potties. Man, we are the wave of the future. […]


  10. The Wren’s Nest » More From the Archives
    Pingback // October 23rd, 2007 // 1:14 pm

    […] In slightly more exciting news, the homeless guy refused to get off our porch this morning and Outdoorsman Matt briefly electrocuted himself. His ear, specifically. […]


  11. The Wren’s Nest » Someone Yanked the Chain Off Our Bathroom Light
    Pingback // May 21st, 2008 // 11:19 am

    […] Anyhow, ever since, we’ve been turning on the light by manually screwing in the bulb. Classy, right? Also, a little terrifying after you’ve just washed your hands. […]

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