Real Life is Scary Enough

The worst are scary movies about real life things.

This morning I woke in a bad mood and with a slight headache. The fluffy cat cozily snoring in the crook of my arm suddenly turned and scratched my hand, the very one that was petting him. This drew blood and pissed me off. Throwing him to the floor I got up and grumpily started my day. Then I remembered: I'm still alive while others are not, so what the heck am I grousing about?

With the world in chaos everywhere you look, except on Facebook where everyone is having just the loveliest time (but for those brave souls who actually admit to being depressed), it's hard to stay happy, or even just not miserable. It takes constant vigilance and a clear plan, which a dear friend of mine has been teaching me. You've got to rescue yourself from those dark clouds hanging overhead, ready to drench you with the acid rain of envy, sadness, disappointment, boredom, resignation and even horror.

So I found it odd when I saw a TV ad for a new movie about to open claiming to be "the scariest movie you will ever see," like that's gonna get you into the theater. Among the bombardment of critic's blurbs splashed across the screen was the following boast: "DISTURBING ENOUGH TO UNSETTLE YOUR SLEEP FOR WEEKS!" Really, is that good thing?

Here's something else that can unsettle your sleep short-term, a true fact and not just my own experience: eating blue cheese. We had some for dinner last night and, as always, it made for a nutty dream involving my old friends Martha and Bill, two people who have never even met but there they were--packing for a trip together and without me! Which is why I woke up in that bad mood. Lord knows I am not going to see that scary movie, whatever it's called.