Alarming Malfeasance

With the arrival of back-to-school meetings (in preparation for actually being back to school), I've started to set my alarm clock for morning wake-up. An alarm cock is just a formality for me; a back-up plan to the internal Sassafras clock, which generally permits me to awaken on time.

But I am a cautious girl, so I always set the alarm in case of some sort of accidental sleep-in (not totally out-of-the-question, given my enduring affection for Tylenol PM). On Wednesday, the clock was set for 6:45 am but I awoke at 6:35 and got in the shower, as the cats slept peacefully on. Thus it was while I was showering in the morning quiet that I heard my alarm go off. Normally, I set it to the 'radio' setting and the first thing I hear in the morning is Morning Edition on NPR. It's a gentle start to my day. But on Wednesday I had apparently set the buzzing alarm. Much to my dismay (and the dismay of the kittens), the buzz starts low but gets louder and louder until you press the stop button (or throw it from the house, which seems just as reasonable now that I've heard that grating sound).

Alas, I was rinsing off in the shower, and though I hustled to stop the buzzing, I did not get there immediately. A few minutes later, when I silenced the clock, the cats were pacing around on my bed, with startled horrified expressions on their fuzzy little faces.

It seems that Tiger and Lucy were NOT amused.