Have you ever heard of Roy Cleveland Sullivan? I was turned on to the story by my friend, Kor, and I find myself genuinely surprised that his story hasn't yet been more widely publicized. Even reading the Wikipedia page about him reads like the script to some quirky-but-meaningful, "art-house," independent film.

Sullivan was struck by lightning seven separate times, over the course of 35 years. The lightning strikes were independently verified and documented by medical professionals. At least four of the seven times he was struck by lightning, his hair caught on fire -- leading him to develop a habit of carrying a can of water with him, wherever he went, just in case his head needed to be extinguished again... When he was struck by lightning for the second time, he was knocked unconscious while driving a truck -- and he only awoke to find that his vehicle had come to rest just short of the edge to a cliff... When he was struck by lightning for the seventh time, the incident was immediately followed by the appearance of a bear who tried to steal the trout from his fishing line (though the attempted "robbery" was not successful, as Sullivan kept his wits about him enough to beat the bear off with a stick).

As he grew older, Sullivan became convinced (understandably so) that storm clouds would actually follow him and seek him out for assault. Others seemd to pick up on this, too, as the lightning strikes eventually got to the point where Sullivan's friends and associates would part company with him, whenever they saw the slightest signs of a storm approaching. Unconfirmed reports indicated that there was once a lightning strike very close to Sullivan's father, when they were working together, and on a separate occasion Sullivan's wife was strike by lightning while hanging up the laundry together with her husband. Consequently, Sullivan started to avoid contact with other people, later in life, because he was concerned for their welfare. Eventually, Sullivan committed suicide at the age of 71 -- with the only documented reasons for this being "unrequited love."

Doesn't that just sound like an indy flick waiting to be produced? So much powerful potential for symbolism about fate, fear, and failure. Even though I've never been struck by lightning -- nor have I ever even personally known of someone else who was struck by lightning -- something in his story somehow resonates within me. Don't we all resonate with these themes? Anyone want to give me a grant of one-year's living expenses, so I can develop a script? :-)