Yesterday I started going through some boxes that I left in my trunk when I moved last year. I was looking for my hockey cards and I found an old notebook that belonged to me when I was in 8th or 9th grade. That means Derek was in 5th or 6th. I was flipping through the notebook, laughing at things I had written or drawn when I came upon this note:



It's written by Mom (click on the link! She has a new post!!) & Derek. I'm assuming that she was on the phone hence the reason for the note. We used to do that a lot to her - one of her work buddies would call and they'd be on the phone for hours discussing work gossip. When we needed something, we'd write her a note. Like that's any less distracting than asking out loud. Further into the notebook last night I found what must have been the first part of the note. I had said that since Derek used my keyboard all the time, I should get to use his boombox. Mom agreed in writing and Derek replied with he never got to use it. My response was, in all caps mind you, "I WANT TO USE IT NOW!!!" Here's Mom's reply a little bigger and easier to read:



Mom: "What do you mean you 'never get to use it?' It's yours - - Don't give me this baloney just because Heather wants to use is (sic) now!"



Derek: "Heather always whines and hits me. and even though I say she can't use it, she says, 'I don't care, I'm using it anyway!" Seriously, really...does that sound like me? Whining, hitting my little brother, doing whatever I want? Pfft...



Mom: "You brats! Grow up and be nice to each other! NOW" You can tell Mom was fed up with us just by her handwriting. I'm pretty sure I got to use the boombox after that but I figure Derek wasn't happy. And why did he have a boombox and not me? I was the one who always listened to the music. In fact, in that same notebook was a note from my cousin Camille who said, "Heather would go crazy without the radio." and I wrote back "For sure!"

Labels: family, Funny, Pictures

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Just in time for Halloween:


You made a clean getaway.
No one toys with you...& you won't deal with it.
Everything's still in tact & you don't even
have a scratch. WELL DONE! I'm impressed...


Will you survive a HORROR MOVIE??
brought to you by Quizilla

I cheated on this one. I originally was Donald Duck. Pbbt!

Ariel


Which DISNEY character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

I didn't cheat on this one. How appropriate!

KNIGHT

You are the Knight, the
legendary, romantic hero of great kingdoms. The
Knight is a true warrior and an epic hero. He
will do anything to defend his honor and his
kingdom. Whatever his lord or king commands he
will do without hesitation. He is very
virtuous; he holds honesty, loyalty, and
bravery in very high regard.

Color:
Purple
Animal: Lion
Gem: Ruby
Symbol:
Shield

Image:
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7339749/


Who would you be if you were a character in an epic fantasy? (beautiful pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla


Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! I know I will - I'm going to the Broncos/Eagles game on Sunday with Mom. They damn well better win and not have another 4th quarter collapse! Oh! And speaking of the Broncos, best wishes go out to Bronco Dwayne Carswell who was in a horrific car accident yesterday and is in critical but stable condition in the hospital.

Labels: Quiz

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Two Badfinger posts in a row but this one isn't as happy as my last post. Mike Gibbins, Badfinger's drummer, died on October 4th. I hadn't heard about it at all until Collin found the article yesterday and forwarded it to me at work. I'm very very sad about his death. He was only 56 years old and the article didn't mention how he died.

I worked with a man at the golf course who was friends with Mike; he called him Mickey and said he was a "fun bloke." My big fantasy was that Mike would come visit Karl one day at the golf course and I would get to meet him. But that never happened and now it never will.

I have a Badfinger video that has interviews and performance clips of the band...the interviews with Mike are hilarious - he was so funny. His story about how he missed the plane to their next gig because he went out for cigarettes is great! When I first got the video, I made my ex watch it with me and the one comment he had about the whole thing was "Your drummer's pretty funny."

Here's the article that Collin found:

-----


October 4, 2005 - Mike Gibbins has passed on - by Dan Matovina.

Very sad news. A lot of fond memories of Mike. I'd been in contact
off-and-on since 1978. A witty fellow, he was great with his
participation in my book on Badfinger. We did extensive interviewing -
mini interviews and chats done over many months time - I sent him the
transcripts - which he edited. He was always one to be quick and
off-the-cuff regarding his feelings. The majority of his quoted
material was used in the book with his blessing, and he stood by it. He
also verified other events. Mike later claimed he never read the book
all the way through - he told me it was all in his head anyway and too
painful to totally re-absorb himself into the past.

The man had a lot of great stories and he contributed some of the more
humorous anecdotes in the book, but there also were a slew of more
decadent R&R tales left behind. Partly, I left them out because I
wanted to keep the sex and drugs aspects not too overplayed in the
Badfinger story ? and partly out respect to some of the players in the
story who were still alive. In the end, Mike was fine with that, but I
don't think he would've been ashamed of most of it. Mike was refreshing
in that he wasn't not embarrassed of the past, realized it was all part
of that insane 70s-80s rock'n'roll era, and that he and the band
members were naïve young men thrust into a big situation that could be
overwhelming for anyone at times. Mike could allow himself to be
self-deprecating and acknowledge that no one is perfect, admit
mistakes, move on, lessons learned.

Sadly, Mike seemed to be getting somewhat more frustrated as time went
on after Tom Evans death in 1983. Some of his frustrations of the times
were expressed in his interviews, but newer issues troubled him of
late. I think he was always willing to let bygones-be-bygones at a
certain point with anyone. For some of his thoughts you can see an
extensive interview on his first two solo albums that is still posted
on my site. I was set to do one on his following two CD's, but Mike
seemed to lose interest when his latest CD wasn't selling that well and
the idea was dropped. I am still hopeful the two CD compilation of his
work will be released through Dreamscape.

I know he enjoyed getting questions and he always answered anything I
would ask. I noticed on his webpage guestbook he enjoyed the attention
and liked to converse with the fans. He answered pretty much everything
- but sadly, his site's guestbook was swallowed up by a barrage of
posts with an agenda of planting controversy and it became less about
him, when - being his site - it should have been more respected. The
unrelated issues and self-important grandstanding could have been done
elsewhere. Mike and some of his family commented on the insanity and
soon after the guestbook disappeared forever. So who lost there - Mike.
It never should have happened.

An extremely underrated musician - I will always give Mike an A+ for
his drumming on Straight Up and most of No Dice - just about perfect
for each song - and beyond that ? memorable drum fills. Hardcore
Badfinger fans are all familiar with many of the tasteful toms of Mike
sprinkled on the Badfinger albums. Though he told me he often wanted to
flash out more, I could tell he was proud of what he did on record.

And of course, a very, very fine writer - "It Had To Be," "My Heart
Goes Out," "Your So Fine," and his classic "In The Meantime," which he
told me he wanted to be used alone and not part of a medley. But who
can argue Chris Thomas and his genius of tying it together with Joey
Molland's "Some Other Time," which is clearly acknowledged as one of
the band's masterworks. Mike finally got his wish and re-did his song
on his last CD In The Meantime - extended, of course. *Little known
fact - Mike sang "In The Meantime" onstage at some of the Badfinger
gigs on the 1974 tour supporting Man! That was stated in Bill Collins
diaries.

And the Mike song rarities are outstanding - the 1972 tracks with his
Welsh mates; all of the outtakes from the Head First bonus CD, "Loving
You" - quality songs. And a real search-and-find for collectors - "It
Hurt Me So Bad", - a mid-80s track, is, maybe, one of Mike's best and
most commercial tunes. It's out there, because I got it off a collector
years ago.

Mike was able to get out four solo CD's and I highly recommend
searching for them. More Annoying Songs is his classic - in my opinion.
But each have lots of very worthwhile music. Search them out.

Mike truly loved music and was an accomplished musician. He played
great keyboards. He had his own unique style. I wish he could have done
more touring with somebody, if not his own solo act. He was awesome
when he played with Joey's 1986-87 version of Badfinger with Elliott
Joffrey (Jeff Ross). The man was built to play music. Very progressive
in his thinking, but a true roots-rock-kind-of-guy at heart.

A real "mate" to his friends, a funny guy who lived life to the
fullest, much loved by his family, friends and the Welsh musicians back
in South Wales. Condolences to his wife, Ellie, and their children. And
also, to his ex-wife Gaynor, and their son, Owen.

It was too soon, but I think Mike had a lot of great moments in the end.

Michael George Gibbins
Born March 12, 1949 - Died October 4, 2005
56 years old

-----

*Note to Kathleen: If you're interested, one of my very first posts was all about Badfinger. My blog is named after one of their songs. If you like real rock & roll, check them out!!*

Labels: Music

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A few months ago I was surfing the net and came across a site that has virtual gravesites for the famously deceased. It was a message board of sorts with a photo of the headstone and a place for a fan to leave comments, say what they will to the famous person of their choice. Much to my delight, Badfinger's Pete Ham was one of the choices. I wrote my message, chose some virtual roses to leave on his grave and hit send. Then I promptly forgot about it.

And then a couple of weeks ago I was at work and for some reason it popped into my head that I had done that. "Wouldn't it be cool if something came of me leaving that message," I thought. Of course, "something cool" to me was that somehow Pete Ham would see it. But imagine my surprise when the next day I checked my email and found a letter with the subject "PETE HAM." It turned out to be from a man named Morton who was putting together a 3 disc set of Badfinger's best and wanted feedback from fans as to what songs to use. He had found me through the message I had left at Pete's Virtual Grave!

I was only allowed to choose 72 songs and at first I thought I'd never have enough to choose from but I hit the quota sooner than I expected and still had a ton of songs left over. Being the biased little girl I am, I chose mostly Pete Ham penned tunes from the Badfinger albums and Pete's 2 solo cd's. But I tried to be somewhat fair and put a Tommy Evans solo song and 2 solo Joey Molland tunes as well.

I sent off my choices and almost instantly I had a reply from Morton letting me know my picks were posted on his website. When I followed the link he sent me, I noticed that he chose an album cover for each fan that submitted their fave songs. Sweet man, he picked Pete's 7 Park Avenue solo album for my icon! He also led me to a site where you can vote for nominees worthy of being in the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Morton had nominated Pete a couple months back and much to my delight, he was leading the pack in votes. Maybe one day my favorite musician will be in HOF of some kind. He sure deserves it!!

Labels: Music

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You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Labels: Quiz

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Yesterday was a day spent at the hospital while my Dad had tests done on his heart. The doctor was 98% positive that he would need either a balloon or a stint. Turned out that 2% stuck it's little head up - his arteries were perfectly clear. His heartbeat was "all over the place", however, so he ended up having a pacemaker put in yesterday afternoon. He's doing well...had to stay overnight in the hospital, though. Hopefully this will help clear up all the dizzyness and other problems he's been having. {Crossing fingers} Mom also posted a little about it. Check that out here.

To lighten the Friday mood, here's some fun quizzes I found. Have a wonderful weekend!


Seeing as fall is my favorite season: (I don't want to be soon dead, though)

You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

I was born a redhead and it changed to blonde. Ever since then I've been trying to get back to red!

Your Hair Should Be Red

Passionate, fiery, and sassy. You're a total smart aleck who's got the biggest personality around.

Strange yet delicious - that's me! :-)

You Are Japanese Food

Strange yet delicious. Contrary to popular belief, you're not always eaten raw.

Labels: Quiz

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First off, Mom has a new post! Check it out!!

Now, on to my main topic. Last night Collin and I were talking about foods I could and couldn't have on this South Beach Diet. He asked about potatos and I said that I couldn't have them, as much as I enjoyed them, they were taboo.

"I love potatos...heck, I'll even eat them raw. They're really good that way," I said. He ooked out and told me no one eats potatos raw. My family never saw anything weird about it so I assumed everyone did that. Am I wrong? Has anyone else out there eaten and enjoyed raw potatos?

I did a little research and here it says that it is safe to eat them raw. But at Wikipedia I found this:

Potatoes are edible (if not very palitable) raw, but are slightly toxic. A few people do die from eating raw potatoes each year somewhere in the world but this is usually because they have been improperly stored and have started to sprout. It is in the eyes and the sprouting parts that the toxins are concentrated.

So, what do YOU think??

Labels: food

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Sadly, the IHOP Skank did not put in an appearance last night so I have no horrific description of skimpy clothes, fat rolls and/or stretch marks. But all is not lost. Ginny made up for it.

We were all looking for the IHOP Skank as soon as we sat down last night. When we didn't see her, Ginny piped up with, "Business must be good tonight." She's still under the impression that the girl is a hooker while I think she's just a disillusioned chick who thinks she's skinnier and sexier than she really is. A few people trickled in and out of the restaurant while we were there and every time one walked by, we'd all look to see if it was our entertainment for the night. One girl was facing us and Prescilla asked if that was her. I said no and Ginny said, "I can't tell by her face. I'd need to see her ass. I'd recognize all that cellulite."

The best part is, Ginny is a grandma. She looks like this sweet little lady who wouldn't say a bad word about anyone. But she comes up with some great lines that never fail to somewhat stun me. I should be used to it by now.

Hopefully the Skank will show up next week and give me some good blog fodder!

Labels: Funny

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The place I work has started this little contest. When you get your paycheck, if it says "Winner" in the message area, you win a prize. Well, this pay period I was a "Winner." I got my paycheck on Saturday so I had to wait until Monday morning when HR was open to claim my prize. That gave me plenty of time to dream about what it could be:

- A gift card to a nearby restaurant?

- A gift card to Borders?

- Gift certificates to the movies?

-CC Tiger hockey tickets?

- Money???



Monday morning finally arrived and I hurriedly gave my passdown to Iris, the day-shifter that was taking over for me. "Well, I'm off to claim my prize," I told her. "Oh, did you win a prize bag, too?" Come to find out, another guy on the day shift had won and he got a gift bag with a road map & a compass. Um. Yeah. Not what I had in mind. But! I love to get prizes and presents so undeterred I set off for HR. I showed the girl my paycheck and she went to the Prize Closet and pulled out a hot pink gift bag. Yay! Here's what I won:

- 3 mini Tootsie Roll Pops (can't eat cuz of the diet. I'll give them to Jordyn.)

- Leather car interior wipes (I have cloth interior. I'll give them to Dad.)

- A miniature first aid kit with bandages, antiseptic & gauze. (This is good. It fits in my purse and with my propensity towards blisters on my heels, this helps!)

- A patriotic-themed windsock that looks like it came from one of the many Dollar Stores around town. (It's cute, if cheaply made. I hung it in my dining room since my apartment complex frowns on anything being hung from our balconies.)

It sure doesn't replace getting a raise or a share in that million dollar bonus but it was nice to actually win something. They only pick 6 people per pay period and there's thousands of people that work here so - Woo Hoo!

Labels: work

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For about three weeks, we've been hearing rumors at work that we're all getting merit raises. This was excellent news - we had only had one raise in 5 years so this was great for our morale. We also heard that there was going to be a million dollar bonus distributed between all employees for meeting a December deadline in September. The news just kept on getting better!

Then we found out the truth. The raises and the bonus were only for a certain area, not the whole plant. They said the morale was dropping over there and they needed this kind of boost. Ummm...DUH! What the hell do they think is happening to OUR morale over here, hearing that we don't rate getting a raise or a bonus while all other employees do? To me this is bad business practice. Everyone is so mad over here...but we don't know what we should do.

And I'm sure if we did protest, they'd say, "Just be thankful you have a job." Blah Blah Blah.

Labels: work

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...of my South Beach diet and guess what that means?

I can have bread again!!

I'm so happy! I've missed bread! I also get to eat popcorn, yogurt & pudding. Whee!! The good news is that the diet appears to be working...so it was worth it not having wonderfully yummy bread for 2 weeks!

Hope everyone has a spectacular weekend!!

P.S. Mom's on a roll...check out her version of the I Need Game here!

Labels: food

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A couple days ago, Collin did this MEME thing that looked fun so I thought I'd give it a try. You type in (your name) needs in quotes and laugh about what comes up. Here are mine - some are eerily accurate!! Oh, yeah...apparently according to the rules, you have to stop at 5...but I don't follow the rules, baby!!

Heather needs a rest



Heather Needs Two Therapists.



Heather Needs A Childhood



Heather needs a family who will commit to her one hundred percent.

Heather requires a lot of attention...



Heather needs to reserve a date later in the year when the weather is nicer.



(What) Heather needs in order to combat the bull is a "cool cape,"



Heather needs to start wearing a brassiere.



Heather Needs Some Play.

Heather Needs Men ...Now!

Heather needs to e-mail Sarah about any dates not to do Habitat for Humanity
due to a conflict with a planned or potential event.

Heather needs your help in determining how much money she will need for gas.

Heather needs a female parent who can help show her appropriate ways to attract
the attention of guys and learn how to choose appropriate partners.

Heather needs to fly on Delta.

Heather needs an acidic soil (soil pH below 6.5), so instead of fertilizer, mix
peat into the soil and use a pine needle mulch.

Heather needs to be congratulated for defending herself from unkindness
and overly high expectations when she was a child.

Heather needs some support.

Heather needs sun and open air circulation.

Heather needs to get ovah it.

Heather needs to stick to her career as an country artist

Heather Needs an Ocicat Fund.

Heather needs help retyping all of our brochure text for use on web pages and
brochure reformatting projects.


Heather needs a variety of intellectual pursuits.

Heather needs to find the right balance between emotions and logic.

Heather needs to learn to Use the Sign Language for the word ?More?.

Heather needs more Senate and Assembly committee information.

Heather needs at least two mommies.

Heather needs to decipher the alien message.

Heather needs help.

Heather needs to raise $3500 to cover her expenses during the 10 days in Toronto.

Heather needs to lose 150 lbs.

Heather needs your help to find Patty's pot of gold.

Heather needs to be rejuvenated.

Heather needs to be kept moist

Heather needs assistants and subcontractors who do their damn jobs so she can
focus on making and performing her work.

Heather needs tickets for Gwen Stefani.

Heather needs to hang on to that boy.

And my personal favorite:

Heather needs the Official Ninja Stamp of approval

My life will finally be complete when I get that approval...until then I can only dream.

Labels: Quiz

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Prescilla & I were so jazzed about going to IHOP for break last night that while we were doing our 5:30pm walk before work, we had already discussed and decided what we were having: A Denver omelette with a side of bacon. Mmmmmm.....bacon....We were both going to have the same thing because it sounded so freakin' GOOD!

1am finally rolled around and we took off. We were only 2 last night because Ginny was out sick. We got to IHOP only to find them closed!! For remodeling! *sigh* So much for not only my omelette and bacon but for my weekly report on the IHOP Skank. Sorry to disappoint you. But the dispair doesn't end there, oh, no!

We hightailed it up the road to Denny's, the only other 24 hour sit-down restaurant in the area. We're not big fans of Denny's because everything's greasy and it reeks of smoke but in a pinch it will do. We pull into the lot only to find that they're closed as well for cleaning!! GACK! What do we do???? We're soooo hungry!!

I decided we were going to take a chance and drive 10-15 minutes out of our way to hit the IHOP on Chelton & Platte. I wanted my omelette & bacon, dammit! With the sparse 1am traffic, it didn't take us long to get there. It also didn't take us long to realize that they were closed as well. They closed at midnight! What kind of IHOP closes at midnight for crying out loud???

Okay, one last chance. There's a Perkins on the opposite corner of Platte and I like their food. Plus I was REALLY HUNGRY!! We're sitting at the light waiting to go across when we realize...holy crap!...they're closed for remodeling, too!! It's now clear...the omelette & bacon Gods are against us! "You want to diet? Here's a diet for you - DON'T EAT!!" You know that's what they were saying!!

So I whipped the car into the turn lane and headed back to work. We stopped at a 24 hour King Soopers and Prescilla got a sandwich and I got some turkey and Laughing Cow cheese (which if you haven't tried you need to if you like creamy Swiss cheese - this stuff is mucho yummio!!) and ate our paltry meal in the break room.

Please send bacon. Thank you.

Labels: food

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Dear Mother Nature,

First of all, let me say that I am a great admirer of your work. I love the rolling thunder and lightning, the smell of the rain, the first green of Spring...but my favorite season of all is Fall. The cool, crisp air, the colorful leaves, Halloween...it all blends together in this warm fuzzy potpourri of Autumnally goodness that I can't get enough of. However, this year you seemed to have skipped right over Fall. What happened?

It is October 10th and it's snowing outside. There's a Winter Storm Watch in effect in my area until Tuesday and the news people are warning us to stay indoors and if we can't to make sure we have winter survival kits in our vehicles. This is too early for this kind of stuff!! Where's my crisp breezes, my gold and red and orange leaves swirling down the sidewalk? This isn't right! I demand my Fall! I suffered through a disgustingly hot summer, the only thing getting me through was the thought of Autumn approaching. Where did it go? Did you forget? Did you lend it out to New England and they forgot to return it?

Please, please, I'm begging you, we're not ready for Winter yet. Please let us have just a few weeks of fall. Please? Thank you! Heather

Labels: weather

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I'm sick. I hate being sick. I'm coughing and I have a fever...blah! So in lieu if any real content, here's a quick & easy post:


your a mermaid! your very calm and cheery, and like
to keep to yourself. you adore water, and are
probably a decent swimmer. you don't like to be
confused, either, and like being in control.


what would you be in a fantasy world? (amazing pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Labels: Quiz

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How cute is that? I was very hapy to be a kitten!!

As for the update...this could very easily become a weekly feature here at The Spam...What Was The IHOP Skank Wearing Tuesday Night??

Yes, folks, she was back and as skanky as ever. Once again, I was the first one to see her as my dinner-mates were busy giving their orders. She was wearing a tight slinky maroon top that was elastic-waisted and pushed up to reveal her roll of fat complete with a thousand angry red stretch marks, a floor length black skirt that was slit up to her waist with a mini-mini skirt underneath. It was the most clothes I've seen her wear yet but it was still too revealing for people who were trying to eat.

She went into the bathroom and I asked Ginny & Prescilla if they had seen her. They hadn't so when she walked out, I whispered, "Here she comes."

Ginny: Who?

Me: The skanky girl.

They both turned and unabashedly stared as she walked by. They both made scrunchy, disapproving faces. They agreed that the belly fat & stretch marks were something she should not share with the public. Then Ginny said, "Did you call her skanky?"

Me: Yes.

Ginny: I haven't heard that word in a long time...skank.

Prescilla: I was wondering what you said...I thought you said 'Spanky Girl.'

Luckily we only saw her the one time and I was able to enjoy the best meal at IHOP I'd ever had!

Labels: Quiz

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Sunday morning Prescilla & I went on our usual 5:30am jaunt around the lake. At this time of year it's quite dark and when we run into other walkers or joggers it's usually a shock because we don't see them coming. Yesterday morning was no exception; we ran into (not literally!!) a kid who looked to be about 20-21 walking towards us with crazy curly fly-away blonde hair, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his denim jacket and a petulant look on his face. He was really staring both of us down. I usually don't get freaked out if we meet anyone in the dark - just say "good morning" and be on my way - but this kid freaked us both out. We kept looking over our shoulders after he passed. There was just something wrong about the vibe he emitted.

After our little creepy run-in, we rounded the bend by the tennis courts. Suddenly I felt a blast of warm air like I was in front of a space heater. Then it was gone. A few steps later, the sensation returned. "Do you feel that warm air?" Prescilla asked. "Yeah," I answered in relief, glad it wasn't just me going crazy. It was a huge difference from the normal temperature and it lasted for about 2 minutes. Then it went away. I decided that it was from the jets of the alien spacecraft that dropped off that kid as it landed. Prescilla just laughed at me.

But then on the east side of the lake we saw something green glowing on the waters surface. There was no one around doing any early fishing, just this odd green blob glowing on the lake. I told her that was residue from when the alien morphed into the human kid we had passed. She didn't take to that idea very well. But it makes sense to me! Maybe the pulsing and rippling that's happening in my temple right now is some sort of alien mind control.....

Labels: aliens, stories

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