An Excerpt from Chapter One of Flashes of Light: How to reboot your life, your business or both when chaos strikes by Ann M. Babiarz, as told to Michael A. Babiarz
Creative Consultant: K. Lee — Editor: Annamaria Farbizio
©2015 by Ann M. Babiarz and Michael A. Babiarz, J.D., all rights reserved (see copyright notice below)
Chapter 1: In the Beginning
I couldn’t read. I saw the words on the page. My brain knew them, I wanted to say them. But when I tried, my lips formed a language where every third word or so was garbled gibberish.
I had been up burning the midnight oil. Or rather I blazed through the midnight hour into the early morning. Next week, I was to interview author Joe Vitale on behalf of the Nightingale-Conant Insider’s Club. The topic was his newest program. I was reading and annotating the book that was a companion to the program. *
I queried numerous authors in the past on behalf of Nightingale. It was a perfect match. I always admired that company’s dedication to the art and science of personal development and marveled at the quality of the minds they attracted for their programs. They found my years of coaching experience and stint spent as a radio host the perfect complement. I enjoyed the give-and-take with various authors, as I taped the hour-long or so sessions that would later be used for broadcast to the thousands of Insider’s Club members.
I decided I was just tired. After all, I had been working in my office all day, and it was now after two in the morning. I switched off the overhead light and, book under my arm, walked across the house to the master bedroom. I took Joe Vitale to bed with me.
I crawled into bed, but sleep wouldn’t immediately come. I clicked on the TV, searching for simple comedy that might distract me. A sitcom played and I hoped it might occupy me and lull me to sleep.
I shivered as the AC kicked on and a cool breeze lightly touched my arms. Although it was a brisk night by Southwest Florida January standards — perhaps mid-50s or so — air-conditioning still kept the humidity down and the house comfortable. Perhaps I was simply tired. I used the bathroom and returned to bed, intending to fall asleep to the goofs on television.
As I climbed back under the covers, my husband, Michael, awakened. He asked what was up, and I told him what was happening. He sat upright in bed, eyes now fully opened and staring at me. At that point, my ears were hearing my own speech, but it wasn’t quite recognizable to me.
Joe Vitale’s book remained upon the bed covers. Michael grabbed it, handed it to me, and asked me to read the cover. Not knowing whether to be puzzled or miffed, I looked at the jacket, with its brief title, and extended subtitle, and read aloud. To my horror, what emerged could have been the language of an alien species on a 1950s science-fiction flick.
My husband asked how I felt. Was I dizzy? Did I feel weak on one side or the other? He smiled at me, hoping I would return the favor. He had spent 25 years as an elder law attorney, and had consulted with many a senior who had experienced various illnesses. Little did I know that in his own crude way he was testing me.
We then both knew I needed to seek medical help. Michael jumped out of bed to retrieve his cell phone from the kitchen. I meandered into my closet to find something to wear. As I pondered the rows of clothing, I overheard him calling 911.
He walked back to find me in the closet, shaken by the experience, but with my decades of feminine instincts intact. After all, I thought I still had time to select an appropriate outfit and touch up my makeup a bit before the paramedics arrived.
* Vitale, Joe & Hibbler, Bill, Meet & Grow Rich, Hoboken, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ©2006, softcover.
Read more of Chapter One in our next posting — blog posted Mondays and Thursdays. For information on the book, please visit: Flashes of Light
©2015 by Ann M. Babiarz and Michael A. Babiarz, J.D., all rights reserved
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