Rockin' New Year

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This will be brief by necessity.

I have started the New Year as sick as a whole kennel full of dogs.

It feels like a nasty sinus infection but during these plague days there are no guarantees. so obviously, I'm a little nervous.

I have been checking my symptoms to see if they resemble anything like Covid-19 and so far, they don’t. In particular I haven’t lost my sense of smell or taste, which are two of the big ones.

But, Christ, I sure feel lousy.

Some of my family members are urging me to get a Covid-19 test and I intend to, but right now I can barely move around the house.

I have been living on soup, crackers, and some really bad TV. This is a hell of a way to start a new year, but then I felt fabulous on the first day of 2020 and look how well that worked out.

The SyFy Channel ran its annual “Twilight Zone” marathon this year and I made sure to record one of my favorites, “Nick of Time,” which stars William Shatner and Patricia Breslin as young newlyweds whose car breaks down in a small Ohio town.

The couple have lunch at a local diner and soon Shatner becomes fascinated with—and then enslaved by—a fortune-telling napkin dispenser at their table.

Soon Shatner is convinced the thing is actually predicting the couple’s future, until his wife finally snaps him out of it. He realizes his foolishness and the couple leave, ready to face life on their own terms.

The episode ends with a clearly frightened couple sliding into the same booth and pumping the thing for answers.

“Two people permanently enslaved by the tyranny of fear and superstition, facing the future with a kind of helpless dread,” Rod Serling says. “Two others facing the future with confidence — having escaped one of the darker places of the Twilight Zone.”

Written by Richard Matheson and broadcast on November 18, 1960, “Nick of Time” has an important message about the dangers of being ruled by superstition and fear.

Part of me says that starting off a new year so sick is a bad omen, while my more logical side says I can make improve or change any time I want, calendar be damned.

I think I’ll side with Captain Kirk on this one.

Happy New Year.

Comments

Bijoux said…
Good grief, is the fortune teller a horned devil? That sounds like a creepy episode, but aren’t they all?

Yes, I’d go get tested if you can find a place to go where you are in and out quickly. Please take care of yourself and let us know how you are. XO
1:19 PM
Ron said…
Rob, I am so sorry to hear about your sinus infection. Just to let you know that I've heard of this happening to quite a few people and they said that it was due to our mask wearing. Even me, from wearing my mask at work, I often sneeze, get a runny nose, and even cough. I've been changing my masks a lot because that seems to help, and I've also been carrying some eucalyptus oil in my backpack and put a few drops on my mask throughout the day to help clear my sinuses and it seems to work. In some ways, I think the masks are interfering with our breathing; especially if you wear one at work for extended periods of time, like me. I have to wear one the entire time I'm at work and it's such a pain in the ass.

However, I do know with the threat of COVID, people get paranoid. That's only natural.

And you're right, calendar be dammed. If anything, I think last year taught us all about resilience and in many ways, made us stronger.

So keep the faith, buddy! Sending you LOTS of Reiki energy for a speedy recovery.

And Happy New Year to you!

Cheers!
3:37 PM
Beatrice P. Boyd said…
This comment will be brief as well, Rob, because who wants to read comments when feeling so awful. So, I hope that you will feel better soon and that your condition is not the omen of the year ahead. Watching bad TV can also be painful in many ways. Twilight Zone was one of ghe better shows and my favorite is the one where book lover Burgess Meredith is alone in the world, surrounded by books, and his glasses break and he’s unable to read. Rest up and feel better, my friend and listen to your family’s advice if things worsen.
4:44 AM
Rob K said…

Hi, Beatrice: I love the Burgess Meredith episode, too! Thanks so much for your kind thoughts and all the best you and yours for 2021.
5:36 AM
Rob K said…
Hey, Ron, thank you so much.

I have multiple masks that I wash every evening, but I really like your idea about the eucalyptus oil. I've heard good things about that stuff so I'll be including in my winter arsenal.

Take care, buddy, and Happy New Year!


5:41 AM
Rob K said…
@Bijoux:

Thank you so much!

To be honest, I haven't had a cold or any kind of bug in over a year, so that's a pretty good run.

The timing sucks given the holiday and the Covid situation, where every cough is a cause for alarm. But I'm feeling slightly better today and, thank God, I can work from home.

The support I'm getting from all of you really does my heart good.

Take care and much love for 2021!
5:46 AM
A Cuban In London said…
I really do hope you get better soon, mate.

Greetings from London.
9:17 AM
Rob K said…
Thank you so much, Mario!
12:39 PM
Rajani Rehana said…
Fabulous blog
11:10 PM
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