Jeff Strand Said It First!

Jeff Strand is a very funny writer of horror. So help me, he has a boyish innocence about him like a high school junior who has just used a ton of Saran Wrap in the teachers' loo. He is MC-For-Life ine EPIC (a group of authors published electronically) and he is downright funny.

But in Tampa, back in 2003, there was a touchy situation onstage (if you could call it a stage!) A napkin had been placed over a light to keep it from blinding awards presenters. Jeff said that if something untoward happened with the lamp, the code phrase would be, "My arm is on fire." About three minutes later, he has occasion to say that very thing.

It has become a standing -- more like a rolling-in-the-aisles -- joke among EPICsters, which he uses skillfully at our gatherings.

I was listening to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! Saturday morning when that same line was used to answer a question. I collasped in laughter -- and husband couldn't figure out why.

Jeff, you had the line first, and now it's spreading. See you in San Antonio!