I've got a head start on Zombie skin, too. While making some iced tea this evening, I got a bit of lemon extract on the tip of my left index finger, and it stung. On inspection, I discovered that the skin is flaking away. I don't think it's leprosy, as that condition is supposed to leave the affected areas numb, and I wouldn't have felt the stinging from the lemon. I don't think it's flesh-eating bacteria, either, unless it's a particularly slothful strain of it. That stuff is supposed to spread very rapidly, and this patch isn't spreading at all. Most likely, it's the result of an increase in my sensitivity to detergents. I've washed dishes while not wearing rubber gloves a couple of times lately (yes, I still wash dishes by hand.) I'm guessing I probably won't die from whatever it is, but its presence probably increases the chances that I'll appear actually dead while I'm merely comatose from the heat.
I only found out the other day that movie producer Ismail Merchant (of Merchant-Ivory Productions) died almost a month ago. Actors get splashed all over the front pages when they die, and when producers die the stories are consigned to the back pages. I think I'd rather be a producer.
