A few weeks ago I was packing up the mass quantities of books that Keith owns and I came across one that looked interesting to me. A couple of days later, as I was home alone, I decided it would be a good time to start reading. It is called The Night Stalker by Phillip Carlo and it tells of the murder spree, capture and trial of Richard Ramirez (aka the Night Stalker) in the Los Angeles area in the mid 80's. It is a true story, it is terryfying and yet it is so interesting that I haven't been able to put it down. I won't go into any detail because I know that one of the few people that actually reads my blog is my cousin Kareah and she doesn't need to hear any of the scary stories that have kept me awake for the last week.
On Friday night Keith and I were doing the last minute packing and disassembling of things so that we could move the following day. We disconnected all of the TV's, DVD players, computers and radios. He had to work the next morning so he went to bed around eleven o'clock and I stayed up to get some more things done. Keith was in the next room sleeping and I was scurrying about the rest of the house in absolute quiet with no TV or radio to keep me company. Our old apartment has two large sliding glass doors whose blinds don't close all of the way and three windows whose blinds I keep partially up so that the cat can look out the window. A few hours earlier I had read several chapters in my book and was a bit on edge. In the middle of packing a box I heard a very loud bang which sounded a lot like someone kicking in my door. I jumped about three feet in the air and I swear to God my heart stopped beating for three whole seconds. My darling cats had chosen this time to chase each other around the house causing chaos and knocking into the door. The adrenaline was pumping through my body so intensely that my chest literally hurt. I calmed down a bit and got in the shower, poking my head out of the shower curtain every few seconds to make sure there wasn't a serial killer in my bathroom. I barely slept a wink that night.
Over the weekend Keith and I were together pretty much every second of the day and night so I had little time to be scared. But as he left me at home alone yesterday to go to work and again this morning, I couldn't help but feel afraid. I jump at every noise at night and triple check the locks on all the doors and windows. As the elevator doors open up into the parking garage I get in ready mode in case there is someone waiting to attack me. But I still can't stop reading. It is amazing to me that the mind has so much power over the body. The things we read about or watch on TV really can take a hold of us if we let it. It makes me realize how important it is for parents to not only take an active role in what their children allow into their heads, but also effectively teach them how to deal with the bad things that will inevitably get in. Perhaps if Richard Ramirez's parents had done that, he wouldn't have killed so many people and I wouldn't be reading a book about him today.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
This is funny. Don't you wish you could just tell yourself to stop being so silly. But you can't, it's funny how fear can override reason so easily sometimes.
And I was going to leave a response to you "PS", but I just don't have it in me. I'm curious...what the heck made you think of that! I mentioned to Heath the other night that we used to argue about that so much that we got mad at each other. It blows my mind, sometimes I wish I could claim immunity from having been me.
Oh the terror! How did I not see this post earlier?! I'm glad I didn't...even without the descriptions I'll probably be scared tonight...much better that I read it now that Heath is home to get rid of all the boogie-men!
That is crazy scarry, the mind is tricky sometimes.
Post a Comment