May is Zombie Awareness Month. Who knew?  According to the Zombie Research Society, “Zombie Awareness Month is a campaign to bring awareness about zombies and the possibility of a future zombie apocalypse. The month of May was chosen because a number of notable zombie films are set in May … In addition, the sense of hope, renewal and optimism that the spring season brings gives a contrast to the darkness of a zombie apocalypse. Supporters of the movement wear gray ribbons to spread awareness. The gray ribbon signifies the shadows that lurk behind the light of day.”

 WHAT IS A ZOMBIE?

The Zombie Research Society defines the modern zombie “in strictly biological terms; a relentlessly aggressive human corpse reanimated by a biological infection. However, we often venture outside these constraints to consider other possible causes of the inevitable zombie apocalypse. For example; the concept of transhumanism, at one time regarded as little more than science fiction, has recently become something of a mainstream intellectual movement.”  Comprehende? I don’t.

To learn more than you ever wished to know about what makes a Zombie tick, I suggest you watch Zombie Biology Explained.

 WHERE DID THE ZOMBIE ORIGINATE?

The Zombie idea developed in Haiti during the 1600s and 1700s in the enslaved populations working on sugar plantations. They felt that, by killing themselves, they would be condemned to live trapped in their own bodies as undead forever. Eventually, these beliefs turned into the Voodoo religion, the idea that corpses were reanimated by shamans.

By 1927, the idea had trickled into Western culture. William Seabrook published the first of many works portraying Zombies in 1927—The Magic Island. Then, of course, the movie Night of the Living Dead, a 1968 George A. Romero film inspired by the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, mesmerized the public. The idea that Zombies are undead persons who attack living people and eat their flesh stemmed from Romero’s film.

 ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

A Zombie apocalypse is when society collapses due to a cataclysmic surge of Zombies. Zombies can scratch or bite you, or perhaps you catch the infection some other way. To prepare, you should amass the usual disaster supplies: food, water, medications, first aid supplies, battery-powered radios, and important documents. Be prepared to evacuate by planning an evacuation route and picking a meeting place for your family to regroup. Lastly, you need weapons to protect yourself. Ochsner Health suggests using force, if necessary, to protect yourself by having a crowbar, baseball bat, or selfie stick.  Really? I’m in Texas, y’all. I’ll just carry my pistol and shotgun.

 ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE IS HERE

Experts who claim that a Zombie apocalypse is impossible are dead wrong. Currently, I am operating in a Zombie state, dead tired, lacking energy, and sluggish.  Furthermore, I feel detached and unresponsive, just putting one foot in front of another.

I’m not the only one in the U.S. to feel this way. More than three million people are fighting chronic fatigue, according to Harvard Health Publishing. However, Harvard identifies the cause, not as bites from Zombies, but from myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome  (ME/CFS). Additionally, long COVID has been tagged as causing exhaustion.

 LAST THOUGHTS ON ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Hopefully, my Zombie state will not last too long. Much of it, I hope, is the result of my knee replacement surgery. I keep reminding myself that it takes up to a year to fully recover. And, I must admit, I have abused my artificial joint, having tromped around Las Vegas and taken on too much volunteer work. So, since I’m already prepared for a hurricane and have my apocalypse plan complete, I’ll take a nap!

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