By Janet Fogg
I rarely have my radio on in the car, and a few days ago, radio most definitely off, a talk show host spoke to me. Was this some sort of Candid Camera game? I glanced at nearby cars as I pressed the mute button, and once again, blessed silence. The stoplight changed to green and as I drove on through the intersection, again, he spoke! Was my radio possessed? I pressed mute a third time and a few seconds later the bloviating invaded my car yet again. Definitely possessed! Or was this the first sign of an alien invasion? Or… or… sentience! A yellow Camaro cruised nearby and it was time for my car to transform.
All of that and more flitted through my mind with each burp of life from the radio. Did I ever really consider it was simply a wayward computer chip? Nah. Where's the fun in that? I then wondered whether everyone’s mind works in this fashion, or whether it’s a manifestation of story tellers.
When I shared the tale with my Sisters of the Quill, one speculated that it might simply be a right-brain versus left-brain function and that those who are predominantly “left brained” might not link such random stories to a cranky radio. So if "left-brainers" tend toward logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy, and "right-brainers" are more creative, then my right-brain must have been steering the car on that hot afternoon.
What do you think? Does your imagination run rampant during such simple events?
Regardless of whether I’m right or left brained, or a blend of both, I do know that I’m looking forward to the next time I go for a drive…
16 comments:
Definitely story tellers! LOL Great post!
I'm quite the right-brainer, but in a way that helps me imagine worst-case scenarios when I'm trying to think of logical solutions to problems. But at the same time, my right-brain makes me think of worst-case scenarios when someone is five minutes late in a rainstorm. Like maybe they got swept up in a new river that used to be a street. Or they got struck by lightning and now they're superheroes, too busy saving the world to bother showing up on time to meet me for coffee.
Haha, Janet, how fun! I do that, too, sometimes. Then use it to spin a story later. One time i randomly wondered if cars could be possessed by their previous owners. Hmm... I ended up writing a book about a taxi cab possessed by a demon, but it's a good demon. And the taxi is the cab driver's best friend. The demon uses the radio to talk to the driver by flipping through the stations and capturing individual words to string into a sentence. The 2 have some fun conversations. :)
My mind absolutely works this way. If my car radio did that, I'd be coming up with something like Karen described. Except I like the idea of a car being haunted by a former owner, because cars are so important to some people. Hmmmm.......
One time a kitchen magnet of mine started playing Ragtime (it's supposed to do that but only when you press the button) randomly, and I could not find it anywhere. My brain immediately jumped to the conclusion that my kitchen was haunted and needed appeasement.
I think all writers tend to sensationalize things like this because it makes life that much more interesting. (:
For what it is worth, radios and TVs coming on by themselves, often with random bits of noise or words that make sense, are fairly common in paranormal literature of the nonfiction sort. Experts consider it a way for a ghost or ghosts to talk to you.
I used a baby monitor in my mom's room when she was ill several years ago, and I kept picking up conversations and a small dog barking. I changed the channel and picked up the same thing.
I finally decided it was an elderly couple in a nearby condo with an extremely powerful baby monitor instead of ghosts, but it did have me creeped out for a bit.
Angela, did you ever see any episodes of My Mother The Car? I wonder if it's on youtube. Ah! It is! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cix204cWnWA
Haha. My word verification is asker
I've seen ghosts, had premonitions, and have heard the grudge growl come from my radio after watching it. Oh and what grist for the mill...
Karen Lin
Oh Janet...it was definitely possessed. And hopefully by a tall, dark, very sexy alien who tried desperately to appear in the flesh but just couldn't break through the time barrier.
Yep! I just know it!
Mimi LOL
It's not so much whether the radio was on or not, but what was being said...
Definitely! Like Dean, I'd have to say the important part was what it said in each clip. The fun thing about being a storyteller is you can pull other people into your delusion with you when you're freaking out about some bizarre happening. One of my kids' toys was talking in the basement last night when I was sitting here writing. Probably the batteries are dying or some such thing, but the things going through my head were far more interesting than that theory. I had my hubby all jumpy by the time I was done! I even had me jumpy by then, too.
Oh, there's definitely a loose connection SOMEWHERE (did I just write that out loud?)...
;-]
Thanks for stopping by - very interesting comments from everyone!
If my radio again has fits, I'll pay attention to what's said. That'll be both fun AND spooky!
And as for that loose connection... Yes, Frank, you did!
A sexy alien? My husband isn't going to like that! Heh!
Very cute blog. I think all writers think differently from um, the norms. Even dumb lines in TV shows have me zoning out. And when I'm doing the very boring task of ironing . . . Well, I call it writing in my head but hubby calls it a kinky sense of imagingation. :)
Shar
I like that! "A kinky sense of imagination." Heh!
Wait! Are you saying that's NOT normal behavior? Cos, let me tell you, I once had an Andy Gibb poster speak to me when I had first started writing at 15! And I didn't question it... well, I did ANSWER him. But I didn't question.
Post a Comment