My hair appointment is at 10:30, and since I like to have
at least two hours in the morning before having to go anywhere, I set the
bedside alarm to come on at 8. The alarm, that is, not the radio, because I
will just listen to the radio and doze off again, whereas the alarm beeping
will annoy me enough to sit up and turn it off.
As I set the alarm, I think to myself, “I would like to wake up on
my own, shortly before the alarm goes, so I won’t be jarred out of sleep by
it.”
And donchaknow, at about 10 to eight I’m awakened by a male
voice calling, “Kathy!”
It is an unfamiliar voice, but real enough that I put on my
housecoat and go to the door, then through it, to see if anyone is there.
All I find are the busy birds, and the old dog, Jenna, who
stirs from her rest when she hears my footstep in the porch.
