"Shocking" - Jenn Schram

During a mid-summer afternoon in 1985. I was helping my father collect nightcrawlers for a fishing trip.  Better than merely watering the yard and waiting for the worms to crawl to the surface of the earth, my dad always used the “worm-shocker”.  This antiquated device was simply a metal rod, with a wooden handle - which was attached directly to a power cord. When plugged in, the electricity was connected directly to the metal rod - which was then placed in the ground.  Within moments, worms would crawl to the surface, trying to escape the 120V pulsing through their usually peaceful soil.  Dad had watered the lawn and I was poised and ready to collect nightcrawlers in my bucket. I was 7 years old.  I had observed my father use this tool several times and called to him in the garage that I thought we had collected all the worms in this spot - I asked if I could move the “worm-shocker” to the next spot.  Dad yelled back that I could move it, but to make sure to only touch the wooden handle.  Feeling quite proud of myself, I bent down in the damp grass to tug the shocker free from the earth.  As it came to the surface, it’s weight and momentum caught me off guard and with my free hand I accidentally grabbed on to the metal rod.  If you’ve never touched an electric current before, you may not know that your muscles contract when the voltage makes contact with your body.  So, my hand was stuck grabbing onto the electrified metal rod. I began to scream and my body began to bounce and jump around the front yard.  I tried to pry my hand loose with my other hand, but then the current grabbed  onto my other hand.  Now, I was completely attached to this hot metal rod, bouncing and jumping around the yard.  I remember looking toward the house, but I couldn’t see dad anywhere. I could see my mother, in her purple robe, standing in the front door.  I could hear my little brother screaming and watched as he began to run circles around our car in the driveway. My ears felt like they were full of cotton - sounds were muffled and strange.   Bouncing and screaming and mom and zapping and neighbors and grass and jumping.... and then …calm.  Dad had unplugged the shocker.  My brother was still running around the car and the scream I was hearing was my own. I had blisters on the palms of my hands, but no other injuries.  My dad has assured me for years that when he saw what had happened he walked directly to the outlet and unplugged the cord, that I had only touched that rod for a few seconds. It felt like an eternity.