[sic]

I was feeling pretty ill a couple weeks ago, but I'm better now. I wasn't going to mention it, but it kind of fit with the title here.

Anyway, there have been a few instances in the past couple of weeks when I realized that some quirky behavior I exhibit is really not that uncommon. So I wanted to toss this one out, too, and see if it's the same.

While reading this article (regarding animals blocking an airport runway) I came across a quote:

"The monitor lizards -- they look frightening but they are harmless animals," he said. "But they can grow about three to four feet long. And at the velocity a plane lands, the [lizards] can still cause damage."

Now, am I the only person who reads things like this and wonders what the man really said instead of "lizards?" I like to imagine all sorts of colorful epithets inserted in that sentence that CNN just couldn't print. Please tell me I'm not.

Right place, right time

Everyone in the DC area noticed the severe storm that came through last Wednesday. I don't pay too much attention to the news, and even I heard about it enough in advance to be prepared. But when another severe storm came through on Saturday night, I hadn't been warned.

I was probably out of the loop because it was the weekend, and I had been focusing on other things. I had a day planned from the start to the end with fun and uplifting things to do. When the storm came, I was just about 10 miles north of my home, at the adult session of our stake conference. Afterward, I went out to eat with a few other young people. We only received very light rain, but did get to hear thunder and see some impressive lightning to the south. It was only when I got home that I realized how bad the storm had been. A huge limb was down, blocking half of the road into my neighborhood. As I turned onto my street, the usually beautiful tree lining both sides of the road and the median were missing several large limbs as well -- of course, they were on the street. The parking lot in my apartment complex likewise has a plentiful supply of trees, so there were many smaller limbs scattered all of the lot. Sirens could be heard throughout the neighborhood. I saw my neighbor on the way into my apartment, and he informed me that I missed out on 60 mph winds and coin-sized hail.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I like to think that my car (and I, of course) was kept safe because I was in the right place.