Jennifer Warnes = Zombies

Last week I watched the remake of “Dawn of the Dead.”
For anyone unfamiliar with it, much of the movie takes place in a mall in which surviving humans have taken refuge from the hungry crowds of zombies out to feast on their living flesh.
During several of the mall scenes we were treated to the sound of muzak in the elevators.
One of the songs featured was “The Right Time of the Night.”
Friday morning, as I was getting ready to head off for my pre-work workout, I was walking to the kitchen to grab my lunch bag when, from out of nowhere, the non-muzak version of the song, as performed by Jennifer Warnes, popped into my head.
Though it wasn’t the same as the version featured in the movie, it did still bring the movie to mind…along with various images of hungry zombies.
As I was shutting out the lights, grabbing my gym and lunch bags, and heading for the door, I found my heart rate increasing slightly as I imagined a zombie waiting for me on the other side of the door.
There wasn’t one, obviously, but even so, at around 4:30 in the morning the dark parking lot can be eerily quiet, and once my mind has latched onto a scary thought I find myself rushing to my car and fumbling with my keys as if I were being chased.
Okay, so I’m a grown man, and intellectually I know that the odds don’t favor me attacked by zombies as I make my way to the car in the morning, but when I’ve got Jennifer Warnes in my head insisting that it’s the right time of the night, I’m not ashamed to admit that I find myself a little freaked out.
That sort of thing happens every so often, particularly if I’ve had weird dreams. For example, a while ago I had a dream about werewolves right before I woke up, so in the light of the full moon, I made something of a mad dash for my car, started it up, and hauled ass the hell out of the parking lot.
I don’t care how old or fearless you are; every so often you’ll have an experience like that. Sometimes it’s as simple as waking up in the middle of the night and knowing that if you open your eyes Jason will be standing over you.
In any case, a permanent association has been formed in my mind between that song and the rotting, undead faces of slavering zombies. And because my mind is perverse and not at all under my control, whenever it gets the chance it will make that song, and the associated images, pop into my head when I have to make my way outside during what I’ve come to consider the wrong time of the night.
I discovered this on Saturday morning when, right on schedule, I headed for the door and found myself convinced that a zombie (and, for anyone who’s seen the movie, specifically the little girl zombie from the beginning of the movie) would be waiting for me on the other side, thanks to Jennifer Warnes.
I managed to avoid a repeat of this on Sunday only by clinging desperately to the song “Vacation” by the Go-Gos, which had popped into my head while I was brushing my teeth, though that in itself was its own brand of terror…
Today, like most days, was largely uneventful. I got up, went for a walk, came home, showered, went grocery shopping, came home, made lunch, read a little, wrote a little, went for another walk, came home and did some more writing, made dinner, ate, and that brings us up to speed.
I’ll be back with more later, but I wanted to post something in the meantime.