Monday, May 10, 2010

Today really was different


This as my backyard at about 11 am. I went to the sink to wash my hands, looked up and all three were looking in my kitchen window. By the time I got my phone for a picture, they were further out and despite the semi-lazy look of them in the photo they were moving constantly and fast as though they knew they were going home soon and wanted to squeeze as much fun and adventure as they could into the time they had. I'd never seen these horses before but they were clean, fed, and shod so I assumed they were someone's babies... just not the kind of babies that wanted to let me keep them in my yard til the Sheriff's car showed up. They took off around the side of my house and to the front yard where our neighbor's two horses were and all 5 took up screaming, peeing, and head bobbing for a few minutes. Then off again, across the dirt road and away behind and empty house. The tracks lead to the next street and I heard them talking to each other but didn't see them. Right as I was walking back home the Sheriff's car went by - a good response time, just not fast enough for horses on the lam!
Mick slept through it but I got a couple of pictures and the younger boys got to see them up close. Hope the adventurers get home safe and sound!
This reminded me that I never told you all about my very first call to 911. Recently I was on my way to City Hall in Bend to pick Mike up from work, all three kids asleep in the back seat of the van. I drove under the Wilson street overpass and was shocked to see a man contemplating a jump into the southbound traffic. He looked so utterly sad as though he had given up, holding on to the railing but facing the street below. I called 911, busy signal. I hung up a moment because I was fighting the memory of my mother's refrain, "You never call 911 unless there is a REAL emergency!" Oh, wait, this qualifies.
Amazing how inane the mind can be when faced with something so unexpected and serious. I got off at the Colorado exit and when I stopped at the intersection, called again. This time it went through and the operator asked me what my emergency was. I got one word out... "I.." before the information on my location must have come up on the screen because the operator suddenly interrupted to ask me if I was calling in a jumper on the overpass. Since I was, I said yes, he told me there were 2 cars on route, I said thank you and he hung up. It was somewhat anticlimactic considering it was my first 911 call and it involved a disturbed and very sad man attempting to take his own life, but my next thought (inanity strikes again) was 'They record those calls and I said 4 words. I yes thank you. How dumb am I going to sound if they need to play that recording ever again?'
Because Mick slept through both of these rather sudden occasions, he is understandably eager to be involved somehow now that he's awake. I asked the children to let me know right away if they see a car in the driveway or hear a knock since I am hoping to hear back about the horses. Mick came up to me a few minutes after that to say "I hear... knocking?" I did too but in a vague distant way that didn't sound right.
I checked the front door, barren of life. So I followed the sound upstairs and into my room where it became mixed with feline growling. It all suddenly clicked and made sense. My very pregnant Siamese was in the top shelf of my walk in closet hunting the sound, growling and desperate to attack the unseen and unreachable prey - that turned out to be a woodpecker on the outside wall of the house.
This is one of those days, one of those weird days where everything is just a few degrees Off, know what I'm talking about? Uh, yeah. Things never seem to fit right, there is no rhythm or discernible pattern. Not always a bad things, but the unexpected is a little less safe, I think.
Let's hope nothing else happens!

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