Why superstition is a dangerous thing.

Okay, this is why my student was rushed to the hospital yesterday by ambulance (this story was told to me by an eye-witness, not the victim herself):

My student was giving a presentation in drama class, one of Lady Macbeth�s soliloquies, and was unaware that actors are superstitious about the out-loud mentioning of that play�s name. Neenee (for that is the girl�s name) is young and unversed in the intricacies of dramatic etiquette, and blurted out the name of the play with no thought as to consequences. The teacher of the course, however, is very sensitive to the superstitious consequences of speaking the name of the Scottish play out loud, and immediately demanded that Neenee perform some kind of ritual to undo the curse she had invoked. To this end she was instructed to run up and down the stairs, which brought on a severe asthma attack, totally paralyzing the poor girl. According to my source, she was turning purple. Finally, someone with a cell phone dialed 911 and an ambulance came to take her away. Security came and waited with her until the medics arrived, and when she called and left her message, she was back home and supposedly all right. I must call her and find out what ensued.

I also made an error, thinking that the town-hall meeting that is being called because of the new principal�s strange behaviour, including the dismissal of an employee without grounds, was at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon, so I rushed over to the university, arriving late, only to find myself at a reading by one of Canada�s most emminent poets. He was fantastic and I was sorry I�d missed the first half-hour. So my mistake actually ended up being beneficial, as I would not likely have gone to the reading otherwise. It turns out the meeting is tomorrow at 4:30, when I am in choir practice. Oh well, I�ll wait for the minutes.

I have a Latin test tomorrow morning. I think some studying would be in order.

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