Home > Wendy Does Waco > Archives > 2008 > October > 03
Friday, October 3, 2008
Sleepy girl seeks vicarious scary fun
Once again, it’s the end of the week and here I am, handing out assignments to you, my dear readers.
See, I was flipping through Waco Today today and noticed the millions of things that are going on in the area this month. And I want to do ALL of them. But there is a certain genre of activity which, despite my desire to attend, I must stay far away from. Haunted houses.
I love the real thing (and that’s a whole nother blog post), but I CAN NOT go through a Halloween haunted house. It’s actually a medical problem.
You probably thought narcolepsy was weird because it’s a brain disorder that makes people fall asleep, but the sleepy part is actually the most normal of the narcolepsy symptoms. There’s something else called cataplexy that means when I feel a strong emotion, I lose muscle control.
Examples: Eddie Murphy’s Delirious stand-up makes me laugh so hard, I fall over on the sofa and pass out. Sometimes at work I get so angry about this or that, I have to immediately sit in my chair or I will literally crumple to the floor where I’m standing (have you ever tried to win an argument when you’ve lost the ability to stand or even speak? You kind of lose all cred at that point). And if someone jumps out at me in a Jason mask with a chainsaw (mixing my movies, I know), I will fall like a sack of potatoes and pass out.
Show of hands, who learned of narcolepsy by watching a film in your high school psychology class where a dog is running across a lawn and suddenly drops and passes out. That’s me at a haunted house. I’ve been to one ever. In 9th grade, as my narcolepsy was just showing up, but I had no idea I had it, I went to a haunted house with friends. After the first scare, I nearly lost it, I had to grab on to the person in front of me just to make it through (like I wasn’t already enough of a freak in high school, I really needed THAT to happen).
Now I’m a grown up narcoleptic and I know my limits, but still long for a good scare. So I’ll make you a deal. I’m going to the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art Saturday morning with my super cool Dallas friends Susie and Shawn. I promise to tell you about it if you promise to tell me about local haunted houses.
So go, get your pants scared off and think of me, the poor sleepy girl who can’t partake in that kind of fun. Tell me which places are the best and why. Make me jealous. Do it. I dare you. I double dog dare you. (so now you have to)
Have a great weekend!!!
