Beth and I decided to go to the mall to get dinner at the outdoor food court. As we finished up our food I looked over at the large mansion that was situated next to the mall, but back a little further from the road. I noticed a black Lincoln Continental parked toward the front of the large, circular driveway. It was then that I remembered that there was an arranged pick-up with three prominent mobsters in the area. They were to park near the Lincoln and take whatever had been left in the trunk for them. This would be the perfect opportunity to identify some of the criminals we'd been after for a long time.
Suddenly, Beth and I are inside the parked car. She’s in the driver’s seat, and I’m right beside her. We would’ve switched, but right then I saw a car pulling into the driveway. It was an old, junky car…they probably stole it specifically for this pickup so that we wouldn’t be able to identify them by their car.
Our windows were tinted very dark, and the sun was setting, so the chances were small that they would realize anyone was in the car. We cracked the windows so that we would be able to hear them talk, in case they divulged any sensitive information that could help me with my investigation. As they pulled up behind us and got out of the car, I heard shouts and commotion. They knew we were there! I threw the car into drive and told Beth to step on it!
We pulled out onto the road with the mobsters in hot pursuit. Our car was much faster than theirs, and we had a full tank of gas, so I knew we could outrun them, and eventually lose them. I needed to be driving because I was a better tactical driver, but we couldn’t risk getting into an accident. At the next intersection I had Beth lay her seat flat and climb into the back while I took the driver’s seat. I took off like a shot and lost them within a few miles.
I wasn’t sure how they knew we were in the car. They couldn’t have seen us in there, but they may have been watching the car and saw us get in. Of course, there was always the possibility that we had been setup. If that was the case, then they would know where we lived and we didn’t have much time. I pulled into the driveway of the house I grew up in and we went inside. I figured we had a couple of hours before they could get here, but we needed to pack and leave as quickly as possible. Beth wanted to do a load of laundry first, because some of the clothes she wanted to take were dirty. I protested but immediately saw that my arguing was futile. She was doing laundry whether I liked it or not. As we waited for the washer to finish I went into the crawlspace under the stairs and started makeshifting a hiding place for Beth in case the mob caught up with us quicker than we expected.
It had been a while and I was getting uneasy just sitting in our house, so I went to get Beth so we could leave now. She had fallen asleep in the laundry room. I woke her up and we went up the stairs to leave, but I saw the mobsters’ car outside. I told Beth to get in the crawlspace downstairs as I ran out on the front lawn with my glock. They immediately opened fire so I dropped on the grass and started shooting. I knew there were three of them, so I put one shot through the passenger side window, and another into the backseat. Judging by the yells I heard, I figured I hit the two I was aiming for. I put a few shots into the driver’s side as I ran to our car. I figured we had time to get away now because they would most likely be driving to the hospital. We’d easily be able to I.D. the two that I shot because shootings were rare in our town.
As I started the car I looked up to see, to my horror, the third guy running into the house. I saw him run upstairs and knew he was chasing Beth. I threw the car in drive and tore around to the back side of the house hoping she’d emerge just as I pulled up. I was a little late, and she ran to the front of the house and up onto the road. I pulled up next to her, and tried to unlock the door, but I kept hitting the window button. Now he was running onto the road and firing at me. He caught up to Beth and grabbed her so I rolled the window down, put three in his chest, got Beth in the car, and drove off.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
my yellow balloon
Flying is a strange feeling. The adrenaline rush is a constant mix between the fear of falling and the ecstasy of floating. This is where I find myself.
Soaring high above the trees and beaches, I strain my eyes to identify buildings or streets that I recognize. Wondering how I am so high in the air, I follow the string that is tied around my waist up to where it is securely fastened to a yellow balloon. Just then, the wind dies down, and my yellow balloon and I begin to drop. As we near the ground, the wind picks up again, and we start floating again, though not as high as we once were. I can now see people’s faces down on the ground. Over on the beach, I see the Werner family and some church kids running around. Must be a beach day for the school. I call out to everyone and they wave at me as I pass over them. The wind changes direction and I begin to fly inland. It gets dark very quickly as the sun sets, and I begin to realize that my balloon is about half the size that it once was and I’m quickly descending. I land softly on the ground and reel in my balloon to inspect the problem. It appears as though someone has poked it with knife or a needle, and even though it is made of a very thick latex rubber, it has sustained a small puncture wound in its side.
As I’m standing on the dark street contemplating a way to patch the hole so I can once again fly over the city, I notice a man walking toward me. He was acting nonchalant, but there was a look on his face that told me his intentions were quite deliberate. I began to walk the other direction and heard his gait pick up a bit. More angry than scared, I turned around to face him just as he tucked a knife in the folds of his jacket. He nodded and walked briskly away. This must be the guy that poked my balloon! Thoughts of vengeance flashed through my mind, but being unarmed, I thought it best to let him go this time.
As I stood there with my dead balloon in my hands, I wondered how I’d get home. I was miles away with no transportation. I pinched the hole in my balloon and tried to reinflate it, but it was no use. “Besides,” I remembered, “it can only fly during the day.” Defeated, I started my long walk home.
Soaring high above the trees and beaches, I strain my eyes to identify buildings or streets that I recognize. Wondering how I am so high in the air, I follow the string that is tied around my waist up to where it is securely fastened to a yellow balloon. Just then, the wind dies down, and my yellow balloon and I begin to drop. As we near the ground, the wind picks up again, and we start floating again, though not as high as we once were. I can now see people’s faces down on the ground. Over on the beach, I see the Werner family and some church kids running around. Must be a beach day for the school. I call out to everyone and they wave at me as I pass over them. The wind changes direction and I begin to fly inland. It gets dark very quickly as the sun sets, and I begin to realize that my balloon is about half the size that it once was and I’m quickly descending. I land softly on the ground and reel in my balloon to inspect the problem. It appears as though someone has poked it with knife or a needle, and even though it is made of a very thick latex rubber, it has sustained a small puncture wound in its side.
As I’m standing on the dark street contemplating a way to patch the hole so I can once again fly over the city, I notice a man walking toward me. He was acting nonchalant, but there was a look on his face that told me his intentions were quite deliberate. I began to walk the other direction and heard his gait pick up a bit. More angry than scared, I turned around to face him just as he tucked a knife in the folds of his jacket. He nodded and walked briskly away. This must be the guy that poked my balloon! Thoughts of vengeance flashed through my mind, but being unarmed, I thought it best to let him go this time.
As I stood there with my dead balloon in my hands, I wondered how I’d get home. I was miles away with no transportation. I pinched the hole in my balloon and tried to reinflate it, but it was no use. “Besides,” I remembered, “it can only fly during the day.” Defeated, I started my long walk home.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
the oar
I was getting ready to go to the movie theater with Ray to watch some new movie. I put on a pair of shorts and realized that I didn’t have a clean shirt to wear. I brushed my teeth, grabbed my keys, and headed to Wal-Mart to get a new shirt. It was about 8am on a weekday and for some reason I didn’t have to work that day. I walked into the store shirtless and headed toward the men’s department, but something was amiss. The entire place was swarming with stay-at-home moms and I was the only guy in the whole store. As I neared the men’s shirts, I saw a rack that had button-up short sleeve plaid shirts for $2. Apparently, during the night, Wal-Mart discounts all of their clothes that they need to get rid of, and every weekday morning, all the women that don’t work rush in to buy up all the cheap stuff. The things you learn at Wal-Mart…
Anyway, I buy my shirt, put it on, and head home to wait for Ray to pick me up. As I’m waiting, Johanne pulls up in a truck and asks me if I can carve an oar out of wood for one of his friends. Apparently, he had promised a friend that he would have one for him today, but he had procrastinated and now he needed help. I lectured him for awhile about being self-motivated and avoiding procrastination, but I finally agreed to help him out. To make my job easier, I sawed off a branch from a nearby oak that was already sort-of oar-shaped. I used my saw to start flattening out one end of the branch while Johanne sat and watched me. As I was sawing away, my neighbor came out and asked me if she could borrow some dog food for her dogs. They were leaving for vacation today in their RV and they had forgotten to buy a new bag of dog food for the trip. They wanted to get on the road as soon as possible and didn’t want to have to make a stop just for dog food. I went inside, grabbed the bag I had just opened, and brought it out to her. She thanked me and headed back over to her house.
I worked on the oar until Ray came to pick me up. I then handed it over to Johanne to finish it. At first he protested, but I wasn’t about to do the entire thing for him. He needed to learn that waiting until the last minute to do something has a consequence. I hopped in Ray’s truck and we headed off to the theater.
Anyway, I buy my shirt, put it on, and head home to wait for Ray to pick me up. As I’m waiting, Johanne pulls up in a truck and asks me if I can carve an oar out of wood for one of his friends. Apparently, he had promised a friend that he would have one for him today, but he had procrastinated and now he needed help. I lectured him for awhile about being self-motivated and avoiding procrastination, but I finally agreed to help him out. To make my job easier, I sawed off a branch from a nearby oak that was already sort-of oar-shaped. I used my saw to start flattening out one end of the branch while Johanne sat and watched me. As I was sawing away, my neighbor came out and asked me if she could borrow some dog food for her dogs. They were leaving for vacation today in their RV and they had forgotten to buy a new bag of dog food for the trip. They wanted to get on the road as soon as possible and didn’t want to have to make a stop just for dog food. I went inside, grabbed the bag I had just opened, and brought it out to her. She thanked me and headed back over to her house.
I worked on the oar until Ray came to pick me up. I then handed it over to Johanne to finish it. At first he protested, but I wasn’t about to do the entire thing for him. He needed to learn that waiting until the last minute to do something has a consequence. I hopped in Ray’s truck and we headed off to the theater.
Friday, May 11, 2007
of rivers and teeth...
I suddenly found myself freefalling from an airplane with a few of my friends. At first, I didn’t know whether I jumped out willingly, or if I was pushed out. I soon realized that I was wearing a parachute, so it must have been my choice to jump. As the initial rush of adrenaline began to subside, I noticed some of the guys pulling their cords and being jerked up sharply as their parachutes filled out. I finally pulled my cord and started gliding toward our landing zone: a dusty, barren area in the high desert. We were to land near a deep river that sliced its way through the dry, sandy wilderness.
The sun had been scorching the desert all day, and the moment my feet hit the hard-packed earth I began to feel the heat emanating from beneath me. As I freed myself from my chute, I gazed into the cloudless sky to see who would be the next to land. My friends still seemed far away, so I began to walk toward the river. From up above, I hadn’t been able to tell that the side of the river I was standing on was so much higher than the opposite bank. As I neared the edge of the water, I realized that I was a good twenty feet above the opposite bank and the water below. Beads of sweat began to run down my face as I contemplated jumping into the cool, refreshing water. If I were to jump, however, I knew that there would be no way for me to scale the sheer rock face I was standing above.
I turned back to see a few of the guys had landed already, and were eagerly discussing their atmospheric exploits. As I started toward them, they all started walking toward me, no doubt wanting to jump in the river just as I did. As they neared I explained to them the situation, and then I noticed that Ted wasn’t with them. We all looked up in time to see him just coming within shouting distance. He hit the dirt and quickly doffed his equipment. Boyishly laughing and screaming, he began to run toward the river. I yelled for him to stop, but it was too late. Before we knew it, he had jumped in the river and was calling for us to join him. We all ran to the cliff’s edge just as he realized why I had told him to stop. The river was swiftly carrying him downstream, so we walked along the bank as we tried to figure out what to do.
After about half of a mile, the ground began to slope downward and eventually, Ted was able to crawl out of the water and onto the bank. At this point we all jumped in and began swimming around in the cool water. As I was swimming toward the shore, a glint in the water caught my eye. I dove down and pulled out what I thought to be a human tooth. I dove again and grabbed another white object that turned out to be some tube caps used in molecular biology. I therefore concluded that a scientist had been murdered and his body dumped in this river. My friends all concurred and we initiated an investigation into the murder.
The sun had been scorching the desert all day, and the moment my feet hit the hard-packed earth I began to feel the heat emanating from beneath me. As I freed myself from my chute, I gazed into the cloudless sky to see who would be the next to land. My friends still seemed far away, so I began to walk toward the river. From up above, I hadn’t been able to tell that the side of the river I was standing on was so much higher than the opposite bank. As I neared the edge of the water, I realized that I was a good twenty feet above the opposite bank and the water below. Beads of sweat began to run down my face as I contemplated jumping into the cool, refreshing water. If I were to jump, however, I knew that there would be no way for me to scale the sheer rock face I was standing above.
I turned back to see a few of the guys had landed already, and were eagerly discussing their atmospheric exploits. As I started toward them, they all started walking toward me, no doubt wanting to jump in the river just as I did. As they neared I explained to them the situation, and then I noticed that Ted wasn’t with them. We all looked up in time to see him just coming within shouting distance. He hit the dirt and quickly doffed his equipment. Boyishly laughing and screaming, he began to run toward the river. I yelled for him to stop, but it was too late. Before we knew it, he had jumped in the river and was calling for us to join him. We all ran to the cliff’s edge just as he realized why I had told him to stop. The river was swiftly carrying him downstream, so we walked along the bank as we tried to figure out what to do.
After about half of a mile, the ground began to slope downward and eventually, Ted was able to crawl out of the water and onto the bank. At this point we all jumped in and began swimming around in the cool water. As I was swimming toward the shore, a glint in the water caught my eye. I dove down and pulled out what I thought to be a human tooth. I dove again and grabbed another white object that turned out to be some tube caps used in molecular biology. I therefore concluded that a scientist had been murdered and his body dumped in this river. My friends all concurred and we initiated an investigation into the murder.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
fight night...
I was in a Jurassic Park-like forest helping to cover my friend's project with a huge circus tent. Some evening thundershowers had been forcasted on the news, and we wanted to keep Ray's newest teen-project safe from the elements. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but the whole setup was about the size of a locomotive engine, and had an alarm system designed to go off if anyone entered the tent during the night. Ray had also procured a security firm to guard over the project overnight, seeing as how it was out in the middle of nowhere and would be vulnerable for several hours.
Once we had finished covering everything with the giant tent, Ray had to go to his truck to check on something, so he told me the alarm code so I could go in and set it. After doing so, I walked outside where the two guards who had been sent by the security company were waiting for me. They were totally unkempt and seemed to be intoxicated. One of them was gaunt and sickly looking, the other was a barrel-chested, heavy-set man with a thick beard and a squint in one eye. The bigger man smiled at me and said, “So, you know the alarm code, do ya’?” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he waited for my response.
“Yeah, I just set it. We’ll be back in the morning to make sure everything is alright.”
“Well maybe you’ll tell me the code right now, boy.”
“I’m pretty sure I won’t. See you tomorrow.”
As I pushed past the two, the large man started after me, when out of nowhere, Marc Rhodes came flying out of the brush and attacked him. The two guards turned to confront Marc and things were about to get pretty ugly. The big man was livid and started toward Marc, but I grabbed his arm, spun him around, threw my arms around him from behind and dropped to the ground. I had him in a submission hold as he wriggled and roared trying to escape. As calmly as I could, I told him I’d let go if he’d calm down and leave us alone. After another minute or two of struggling, he finally agreed.
I’m not sure why we trusted the two men at this point, but we started toward our vehicles so we could head home and get some rest. As I got into my truck, I saw Ramon sitting in my passenger seat. He demanded that I tell him the alarm code immediately. By now I was so angry that I blindly attacked him as he pulled the door handle and scrambled out. Adam Stark had been behind me in his own car and saw Ramon flee into the woods. As I started after him, Adam reached into my backseat to grab my glock from its case. I stopped my pursuit when I saw this, and returned to the truck to calm Adam down and convince him to leave the gun. He put the gun down and I started after Ramon.
I had no intention of hurting Ramon, I just wanted to scare him a little. As I came into a clearing, I saw him heading toward the backside of a building that had an old, wooden staircase running up the side of it. As he reached the building, he jumped up from the underside of the stairs and started to climb through the wooden slats. He had almost slipped through when I reached him. I grabbed one of his legs and started pulling him back down when I felt something in his sock. I pulled it out and let him go when I realized what it was. It was a $50 gift card for The Olive Garden. I was satisfied with my find and headed back toward my truck, smug with the fact that I would be dining tonight at Ramon’s expense.
Once we had finished covering everything with the giant tent, Ray had to go to his truck to check on something, so he told me the alarm code so I could go in and set it. After doing so, I walked outside where the two guards who had been sent by the security company were waiting for me. They were totally unkempt and seemed to be intoxicated. One of them was gaunt and sickly looking, the other was a barrel-chested, heavy-set man with a thick beard and a squint in one eye. The bigger man smiled at me and said, “So, you know the alarm code, do ya’?” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he waited for my response.
“Yeah, I just set it. We’ll be back in the morning to make sure everything is alright.”
“Well maybe you’ll tell me the code right now, boy.”
“I’m pretty sure I won’t. See you tomorrow.”
As I pushed past the two, the large man started after me, when out of nowhere, Marc Rhodes came flying out of the brush and attacked him. The two guards turned to confront Marc and things were about to get pretty ugly. The big man was livid and started toward Marc, but I grabbed his arm, spun him around, threw my arms around him from behind and dropped to the ground. I had him in a submission hold as he wriggled and roared trying to escape. As calmly as I could, I told him I’d let go if he’d calm down and leave us alone. After another minute or two of struggling, he finally agreed.
I’m not sure why we trusted the two men at this point, but we started toward our vehicles so we could head home and get some rest. As I got into my truck, I saw Ramon sitting in my passenger seat. He demanded that I tell him the alarm code immediately. By now I was so angry that I blindly attacked him as he pulled the door handle and scrambled out. Adam Stark had been behind me in his own car and saw Ramon flee into the woods. As I started after him, Adam reached into my backseat to grab my glock from its case. I stopped my pursuit when I saw this, and returned to the truck to calm Adam down and convince him to leave the gun. He put the gun down and I started after Ramon.
I had no intention of hurting Ramon, I just wanted to scare him a little. As I came into a clearing, I saw him heading toward the backside of a building that had an old, wooden staircase running up the side of it. As he reached the building, he jumped up from the underside of the stairs and started to climb through the wooden slats. He had almost slipped through when I reached him. I grabbed one of his legs and started pulling him back down when I felt something in his sock. I pulled it out and let him go when I realized what it was. It was a $50 gift card for The Olive Garden. I was satisfied with my find and headed back toward my truck, smug with the fact that I would be dining tonight at Ramon’s expense.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
hyles
I was at Hyles-Anderson college on a trip with some people from my church. Brother Jeff was preaching every night in the men's dorms and for some reason we had to wear pajamas to the services. I was taking care of something for my wife so I was late to one of the evening meetings. Brother Jeff was unhappy that I was late, but he seemed impressed that I was there at all. Strange.
[I've been having a dearth of dreams lately...that, or my memory is worse than usual of late and I just can't remember them. I'm hoping that soon I'll get back on track with my nightly ruminations and be able to post more often. Thank you for your patience.]
[I've been having a dearth of dreams lately...that, or my memory is worse than usual of late and I just can't remember them. I'm hoping that soon I'll get back on track with my nightly ruminations and be able to post more often. Thank you for your patience.]
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