American Idol: And the winner is . . . what?

We had more than six inches of rain yesterday. Most people in Central Florida attribute this to natural weather phenomena, but those who will track this deluge will find the source to be the tears streaming from my eye sockets.

Adam Lambert did not win American Idol. It's true.

Oh, it started off pleasantly enough. Norman Gentle, I was glad to see him. Kris's journey, nice guy, good runner up. It had been raining all day here and lightning flashed in the windows behind me, giving the effect of strobe lights through the window. I hated the group songs; they just don't sound good together.

Then, just as they started to introduce Adam's journey, LIGHTNING TOOK OUT MY SATELLITE! The world spun crazily and I clawed my way to the phone. "MAC! MAC!" My sister, my only lifeline--she's on vacation, but I knew she'd answer for me. I clutched the phone. "What's happening? Who's Adam singing with?"

"KISS!"

Oh, man! Stupid satellite dish. Desperately, my kids and I (and even my husband who hates AI but nevertheless thought Adam superior) tried to restore the signal manually, but to no avail. Then, just as suddenly, the signal returned--at the commercial break following Adam's performance.

Coinkidink? I think not.

Exhibit #1 Despite repeated dialings, I got only one vote in for Adam.

Exhibit #2 None of my text votes received confirmation notices (until the next day).

Exhibit #3 After not receiving confirmation, I repeatedly texted to 5705. That was my fault; I had never texted AI before and thought it followed the phone format. Still, I blame Idol.

Excitement surged through our little family, stirring us to our feet in the final moments. I wonder that I didn't fall to the ground, crack my head on the floor, and require emergency services when Adam's name was not announced.

As some of you know, this season was my first American Idol experience. I don't know if can withstand another.

It's still raining now; forecasters say it will rain all week. If only they would look more closely at their radars and see the tracks of my tears. It's such a mad world.