RAZZLE DAZZLE

School's out for 5 weeks, and lazy days give way to long, dark, cold winter nights, with the skies at dusk turning to a magical mixture of magenta and purple vs. the deep reds and orange hues during summer.  But like the sunsets, Botswana and it's people, don't exactly have, what I would call real Razzle Dazzle, so I'm sitting here thinking how to create my own Razzle Dazzle. Don't get me wrong, there are many great places to see in Botswana, and the wildlife is tremendous, but the bland food, the same song sung and one dance all day long at XMAS, the lack of a vibrant outdoor market, and more... is not always Dazzling the Razzle in me.

So not wanting to cause trouble or anything to get things lively, a novel fell into my hands that I wouldn't normally read, and so on this night, instead of stirring the village up, I lit some candles, and transported my mind to Scotland. Now there's a place that has some Razzle Dazzle, and...... lots of ghosts! Yet, of all the genres out there, horror would surely be the one which I rarely would read or watch alone in a foreign country.  However, I do like the thought of ghosts, dark spooky tales, a supernatural edge to things, and this night needed something badly! So I hunkered down with a spooky book that was at times damn creepy, and the weird thing was, I found myself scared and couldn't stop myself from reading. Yes, and being the coward that I am, I read with one eye shut, clutching my pillow, having Keoki sleep on my so called couch next to me, and my cell phone near by---just in case some Poltergeist decides to put some Razzle Dazzle in a small Botswana village.

There is something about a good ghost story that makes you wanna look or read even if you try not to. But really, it's the psychological aspects of horror stories that are fun. When I found myself hurdled on the couch, peeking through my fingers at the pages, or wondering if I should text someone instead of scream, that's when I knew I was having a good time. It's a rush of adrenaline---the thrill of a too fast heart beat, or maybe I'm just a gal in the Peace Corps with a ghost complex needing a little thrill, but whatever the reason, I'm enjoying the uncanny atmosphere that unsettled me, and the Razzle Dazzle of it all.