Yes, I am proud to say that I’ve fixed all the computer problems. I really hate to admit this, but the easiest to fix was the most scary—refusal to boot up past the “Loading all devices” part. With start-up disc and O/S disc waiting and ready, after starting in safe mode and checking everything else out, I decided to just pull the damn plug on the thing and plugged it back in an hour later, thinking that perhaps it was sick and tired of the strange hours I kept it up. When it still halted at this point, I fixed it with an evil eye, spun around three times, gutturally murmured a curse and left the room never to return for several hours. The magic worked. It was primed and ready when I came back to do more serious damage.
Computers are truly amazing people, but I’ve learned that while they are sometimes undependable and sulky, they can be intimidated.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology