Mission Memoirs: Afterglow

It seems like I get melancholy every Christmas season and I like to go through my things and reminisce. I was cleaning out some old files in my filing cabinet and I came across a Bible that I used on my mission. It is marked up and banged up. I had this Bible since I took seminary in high school so it has been awhile. I also took this set with me on my mission, and I used this set out on the streets. I didn't want to take my nice leather ones out in case I get mugged and someone takes off with my scriptures.

I thumbed through the pages and out fell this note:

This note was written by Elder Buckner (one of the missionaries I lived with) when I served in Jamaica, Queens. His companion when he was getting ready would carry this portable tape player with him constantly and he would only play Afterglow. For those that are not familiar with Afterglow, they are an LDS duo that sings LDS material. Now I have nothing against them or their music, it is not my cup of tea (and I like cheesy music!). But Elder Buckner's companion listened to them non-stop for months and it was grating on all of our nerves. Elder Buckner passed this note to me when I was reading in bed right after his companion passed me singing and listening to Afterglow loudly.

I am totally hanging on to this keepsake. It is now a bookmark in my set of scriptures.

C'Mon NFL!

One of my favorite things to do around my birthday is to go and buy the annual Athlon Football Preview issue. I spend hours pouring through that issue as it recaps the previous season and covers all the news and predicts what will happen the next season. 

Well, that issue is MIA. 

Because of the lockout, that issue is not coming out and it looks like training camps (one of my favorite things to follow) may be canceled. Roger Goodell, the players and the owners really need to sit down and work out a deal because I want my football back! The first Sunday games are scheduled for September 11th, the ten year anniversary of that horrible day. Football was one of the things that helped heal this nation. I know it was a great relief to be ordinary and watch football just barely after the attacks. 

Make this work guys!

Field of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout with Taylor Lautner from Taylor Lautner

I would totally watch this! But I would rather have the NFL come back. I would be willing to watch the Twilight movies every weekend to have the NFL back. I would be willing...  ...well, you don't want to know what I would be willing to do to have the NFL come back. 

The Ballad of G.I. Joe

I have only 10 pages to complete in my ScriptFrenzy competition. I have not written anything today so I should be able to at least crank out 3-5 pages by the end of day. And if I get on a good roll I might be able to finish tonight. Some sessions it seems that it is like pulling teeth trying to put some words to paper. And I think that is because I am writing on the seat of my pants.

But when I do get on a roll the story just writes itself. That has to be the best part of writing, the purest joy of writing is when you get into the zone.

Since I really should be concentrating on writing my script I only want to be here for just a quick second. And in honor of writing some of my favorite heroes (and villains) of the GI Joe team, my thoughts immediately turn to a very funny video about GI Joe. I don't remember if I have posted this before on my blog. Forgive me for being lazy enough not to do a thorough search.

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

The Drama Queen

A couple of days ago Logan and I were playing around in the front room tossing this hard, plastic football around. I told him that I would throw at his feet and he should dive down to make the spectacular catch. He did what he was told but unfortunately his old man didn't hold up his end of the bargain. I accidentally threw it high and it cracked him in the side of the head.

It left a nice mark and everything. Kristy offered to get some ice for his head and he readily accepted. Personally, I didn't think he needed it but I was not going to argue. So Kristy got out an ice pack and since it was dinner she wrapped it around his head so he could eat. He must have been a little self conscience of it since he got mad at us even if we cracked a smile.

It looks like he might be trying not to laugh in this picture but trust me, it was all drama!

He finally let Kristy take a real picture. And of course he has to be funny too.

Kristy and I both got the grand idea to take a picture of his "mummy" head. Logan did not agree with it and tried to keep mom in the kitchen. He didn't see me sneak out to grab the camera and when he saw me emerge from the back room he screamed and ran up to his room. He slammed the door right when I got to his room but I managed to get in. I feel a little bad that I tricked him into opening his bedroom door by saying the camera was turned off but I more than likely he would forget this situation when he got older and I wanted to have a picture so I wouldn't forget. So I snuck a picture of him quickly and he was not happy.

But we did manage to cheer him up a bit during dinner. I won't even mention the part when he spit out his beans when I made him laugh.

Should These Count?

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to read more. Instead of reading a novel once a month, I decided to read one once a quarter since I was adding some other reading goals too.

Now the month has not even ended and I have completed three books so far. And I started my fourth one this morning. Once I am done with that book, and I am thinking that it will be finished in just a few days (since I started and finished my third book yesterday).

But should I count them? I know they should count for at least something.

Logan at school has been coming home talking about this thing called the "Cheese Touch". He would talk about it all the time. So finally we convinced him to bring home this book that contains this so-called Cheese Touch. He brought home this book called Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Kristy started to read it and she laughed through it so I gave it a try. Now three of these diaries later, I am now starting my fourth one.

I have to admit that I really get a kick out of them. But then I also survived middle school. It seems like I have had some sort of the same experiences as this kid did. I would post some of my favorite parts but I don't want to ruin them. You really should check them out yourself. They are a fast and entertaining read. It totally made me remember what it was like to be that age.

If I count reading them then I will be finished with that goal by the time January ends. Hmmmm.... not sure what to do about it. I think I will count them as something but I am not sure what to count them as.

The Coldest Night of My Life

Day 284

When I was in college I had a great set of friends, many of them which I have blogged about before. One of my fondest memories with these guys was when we went up to Tony Grove (a rugged place up the mountains) and did some winter camping. That had to be the coldest night of my life. I have never been that cold even when our furnace went out a few years ago. I mean it was just unbelievable cold during the night.

There was a ton of snow that we had to hike up on snowshoes. We had a large sled (one that dogs pull in the Iditarod) which had all of our gear and wood. We tied ourselves to the sled and hiked up. What a minute... that makes US dogs!

I am the second one from the right looking at the camera. I am not sure how far we hiked but I am sure it was at least a couple of miles.

My artist friend Joel chronicled all the fun moments in his cartoon strip. Most of these cartoon are actual moments from the trip.

This is Joel and Maren. The funny thing about this was that Joel and I were really ill-prepared for the trip. I don't think I packed any food at all. At least I cannot remember packing any.

True story. There was hardly any snow in the canyon until we finally got up to Tony Grove. And it was deep. I remember that after we got to camp we took off our snowshoes and sunk right into the snow past our knees.

Some people had difficulty in wearing and walking in snowshoes. Luckily my Canadian training came in handy. And I am being serious. Our Elementary School and a full classroom set in case it snows really bad. We took them out and practiced on them once or twice a winter.

We worked like dogs to get our camping gear up the mountain! Get it? Dogs? It was quite the haul. We found a place to camp and I remember just sucking it up and driving with everything I had to get up the mountain. The rope that was tied around my waist left welts. It was hard work!

 

Most of the cartoons were of Joel and I. We slept in the same tent and it was night out and setting up a tent in snowshoes is quite an adventure. That is me being the sarcastic one in the first panel. And that was all true, even the last part. But we flipped it back when we went to sleep.

Lared was the one that was uber-prepared. If is wasn't for Lared, Joel and I would have frozen or starved to death. Whichever horrible death that came first. Lared cooked a mean steak. This was a true conversation. Again, that is me with the sarcastic remark at the end of the strip.

 

The temperature plunged when the sun went down. I was amazed that my glove was frozen solid. Seriously, you couldn't bend the fingers on my glove. The same glove that I was wearing just an hour before. Then it hit Joel and I. What about our sleeping bags?

This was one of the strips that was made up. But those snowshoes were not easy to get on and off. It might have been easier to sleep with them on. And the sleeping bags were solid.

 

One of my biggest pet peeves is stepping in melted ice. So I demanded that Eric and Joel leave their boots outside. I didn't want to take the chance. I must have mentioned it a few times since Joel made a strip out of it. The funny thing is that it got real hot in that small tent. So we all took off our coats and just a few short hours later we were awake and freezing looking for our coats. When we woke up that morning both Eric and I were on top of Joel. And our breathing froze and formed ice/snow all over the inside of our tent like a horrible nightmare.

Even though we are freezing to death we didn't want to get out of sleeping bags and tents. We owe Jim our lives that he started a fire. Lared (as always) slept in for hours. So Joel and I ate the S'mores leftovers. That chocolate was soooo hard!

 

This is my favorite strip. Joel captured Lared perfectly. He woke up hours later. The one thing both Joel, Eric and I could have used was some sort of cushion. We slept right on the snow which turned to ice. When we packed up the tent you could see Joel's body outline in the snow. He melted it down about six inches and Eric and I used Joel as a mattress. Then Lared offered for us to use his EXTRA mattress. We could have used that bit of info YESTERDAY!

Joel's jeans were totally frozen stiff and it was funny to watch him try to warm them up by the fire. I honestly did have a good time even with all the snarky comments I made during this trip. Yeah, that is me again in the last panel.

 

We went sledding down the mountain side in the back country and it was a blast. We went down and we were going to fast and we hit this large snow-covered rock and went flying. When we finally hit the Earth, Joel was buried up to his chest (he was in front) and Lared and I were up to our waists in snow. It took a few minutes to dig ourselves out and then we did it again. That was me again with the sarcastic comment!

We totally watched Jim do this as he snowboarded down the mountain. He flipped over and dragged his head into this snowbank and miraculously flipped back in his feet and continued down the slope.

 

The trip home was quiet and sad. We were all extremely tired and sad that the trip was so short.

I am so glad that Joel made these cartoons and gave me a copy. Even though I froze, I had a great time and wouldn't trade it for anything. But I would bring a mattress of some kind next time.

Mission Memoirs: The MTC

Day 281

Seventeen years ago this month I began my 2-year LDS mission to the New York New York South Mission. It is hard to believe that it was that long ago that I left my family to go and serve the Lord.

I entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on August 25th, 1993. Here is an actual excerpt from my mission journal:

The drive to Provo was a long and quiet one. I really had nothing to say at all. In my mind I was contemplating what was ahead and what I was leaving behind. Was this the right decision for me? I don't know, and that is scary. My mom and I arrived at the MTC and we were ushered into this large room. After a very short presentation the parents were asked to leave, and the missionaries were instructed to follow someone else. That was it, time for my mission to begin. My mom went out one way and I went out a different way. I tried not to cry but I admit that I did. I found my room after being inspected from head to toe. I also got my dork dot (a large green sticker on my name tag) on my mission tag and it shined brightly to all other missionaries letting them all know that I was an idiot and a newbie.

After finding my room, I really didn’t know what to do next so I decided to go back downstairs and poke around, hopefully finding some sort of instruction. Coming down the stairs I met some guy coming up with his luggage. He had a goofy smile on his face and really long hair. “Please don’t let that guy be my companion.” I thought to myself. After I returned upstairs from a short jaunt that same guy was in my room and he asked if I was Elder Platis. Sure enough, this guy was my new companion, his name was Elder Powell. The first thing we did together was go get his haircut.

Elder Troy Daniel Powell is from Rexburg, Idaho. He was born just two days before I was. He seemed a little cocky at first but you really cannot judge someone that has been thrust into a new situation like this. One of the first pictures we took of us together was with the camera lying on the ground face-up and we would lean over it. This trick would happen a lot more times on the mission. This did break the ice pretty quickly.

Look how young we are!

I can’t believe that I have started my mission. Leaving my mom was sad but I can cope. There are a couple of other missionaries that lived close that were going to New York as well. We were put into a district with 6 other Elders, (4 of them going to NY) and 2 sisters with one of them going to New York too. Tomorrow we have a ton of meetings to attend and I hear is the hardest day for new missionaries.

Alphabetically Elder Powell and I were put together as a companionship. But it was inspiration. We served together in the MTC for a month and we were the only companionship that got along. Later on in my mission I got the opportunity to live with him even though we served in separate areas. Than we were lucky enough to be companions for a second time and I served 4 months with him. In total, we spent right about six months together.

Elder Powell was my best friend in the mission. We were extremely close and worked well with each other. We had a lot of things in common. Elder Powell influenced me quite a bit. I don't think I would be the same man as I am today without his influence. He taught me to be outgoing and to be friendly and to have fun. When I joined Facebook he was the first guy I looked up.

One of my favorite stories of Elder Powell was this one when we served together in Elmhurst.

After our meeting we called Judy and she came and picked us up and we had our usual dinner appointment with her. Elder Powell sure makes me laugh. I wish I could be as witty as he is. We went to Judy's for our dinner appointment and she was not in the mood to cook so Elder Powell said he would make dinner. I sat myself down on the couch and played poker with Judy and talked about her job. Powell called us in for dinner and Judy and I sat down to eat. Judy then asked Elder Powell to bless the food. You know how in some prayers you say the same things automatically? Well, Elder Powell did that tonight. He got to the part where he normally says "and bless the hands that prepare...". He got to that part and paused, knowing it would be silly to say that since he was the one that prepared the food. But that didn't stop him so he continued. "And please bless the hands that prepared this... ...bless them with strength, wisdom, courage, patience and love." I about died laughing, Judy was not pleased with it as much but she laughed anyway. After we said "amen" Judy reached over and slugged Powell in the arm. I sure hope God has a good sense of humor.

 

Sadly this was the last time I saw Troy when we left the mission field.

Thanks Troy for being a part of my mission and being an example for me. I still reflect and laugh when I think about serving those times with him. Good times indeed.

Thunderstruck

Day 279

While I was at work yesterday there was a big thunderstorm that passed right over our heads. My dad and I usually are listening to movie soundtracks while working and the swamp cooler was on so at first we didn't hear the thunder. I asked my dad if that was thunder and he turned the music down and suddenly

BOOM!

I love thunderstorms. I love to see the flashes of light and the clap of thunder. I sometimes will sit outside and watch nature's fireworks. I know, I know, probably not the safest thing to do but I love doing it anyway. I am such a daredevil!

My dad and I turned off our computers and waited the storm to pass over and we were treated to several more booms of thunder. It reminded me of a funny experience I had with lightning a few years ago.

It was several years ago and Kristy and I were visiting my dad and his family during the summer. A summer thunderstorm popped up and suddenly there was a very loud clap of thunder and my brother Nathan immediately leaped up from his chair and ran to Pauline and hopped in her lap. Nathan was about 12-13 at the time and he is a pretty big kid. Kristy and I looked at each other and started to laugh, thinking that Nathan was just trying to be funny. But he wasn't trying to be funny at all. The thunder really scared him that bad.

He looked like a large scared puppy with his tail firmly tucked between his legs. It was like something out of a cartoon.

Of course whenever I think of this story I am immediately reminded of another time I laughed at Nathan. Kristy and I were over at my dad's and we were all going to go out to dinner to celebrate Kristy's birthday. While we were waiting (I cannot remember what it was we were waiting for) Nathan came around the corner with an empty tube of wrapping paper and preceded to bop Pauline right on the head making this funny sound and it startled her. She looked up at him and was very angry and it didn't help that Nathan had this silly grin plastered across his face. I held in laughter until I thought I was going to pee. It was becoming difficult as I replayed that little scene complete with the cool hollow sound emanating from the empty tube striking Pauline's head. I was so glad and relived that we were leaving as I couldn't hold in the laughter anymore. When I got into the car I just exploded in laughter. Kristy knew exactly what I was laughing about even though I was trying to explain it. We laughed all the way to the restaurant. It felt so good to let it all out.

The Traveling Wilburys

Day 244

I am nearly finished with Tom Petty's Conversations book and I just finished reading the chapter devoted to the Traveling Wilburys. For those that don't know, the Traveling Wilburys consisted of Tom Petty, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison.

I discovered them through my parents and I am not sure how they discovered them. But we listened to their first album over and over again and we just loved them. They became a staple on road trips. Whenever my mom and I went traveling we always took the Wilbury's with us. Sadly, Roy Orbison passed away and we all thought that the Wilbury's were no more.

My mom and I were planning a road trip out to Colorado to visit the Case Clan and we stopped by Hastings to look at some music. And then I made a startling discovery! The Traveling Wilburys had made another album (Volume 3) and we quickly bought the cassette and we listened to it all the way to Greeley.

There was one song that both my mom really got a kick out of. It just had the silliest lyrics and was perfect for Petty and Dylan's voices. We laughed and laughed at the song and I still snicker a bit when I hear it. But I don't think the song is that silly anymore. It evokes some great road trips my mom and I were lucky enough to take.

You Took My Breath Away

You took my breath away

I want it back again

Look at the mess I'm in

I don't know what to say

I don't know how to feel

You don't care anyway

All I can do is wait

You took my breath away

You took this song of mine

And changed the middle bit

It used to sound alright

But now the words don't fit
It's getting hard to rhyme

Impossible to play

I've tried it many times

You took my breath away

One day when the sun is shining

There will be that silver lining

You knocked my headlights out (this was our favorite line)

So turn them on again

I can't see where I'm going

I can't tell where I've been

I don't know how to feel

This hasn't been my day

Seems like I've lost a wheel

You took my breath away

You took my breath away

You took my breath away

You took my breath away

I just love that line. I don't think anything else would have fit.

Congrats Logan!

Day 217

Yesterday was Logan's last day of the 1st grade. Holy crap on a crutch! Logan will be going into the 2nd grade next year!

Last Wednesday his class had a special presentation for the parents. The kids planned the program which featured songs about dinosaurs and they did some acting.

Logan looked tired and didn't look like he was really into the singing. But when it was his time to act, he took the matter seriously. Him and some of his friends did a small play called Signs of Spring and he was the Sun. He had his part all memorized and everything! When it was his time to say his words he said them really fast but very serious. All the kids did a real cute and good job.

Logan's teacher was awesome this year. She even won the Teacher of the Year Award. You can tell from how she speaks that she really loves the children. She even called this one of her best classes she has ever had. I am glad that Logan didn't drive her nuts all the time.

Logan did have some issues in class but Mrs. Petersen was very good with him. I remember her telling us a story about Logan disrupting the class. She was in the middle of teaching the class when suddenly she looked over at Logan's table (it was four desks put together in a square) and she saw his head poking out in the middle of the desks. What impressed me was that she laughed about it. She didn't laugh about it then, she told him to sit down correctly but afterwards she chuckled to herself. At least Logan's disruptions were funny and not rude.

We made Logan reenact the Head Poking Situation

Last night we took him out to special dinner. He choose to go to the Texas Roadhouse and we went and got Aggie Ice Cream after. When we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a university cop on the other side of the road. Logan for the life of him couldn't see him. Then when we were leaving he kept telling us that he saw a cow in the cop car that was crammed in the window. I was teasing him about it and I think he was teasing us as well and it was making Kristy laugh. Logan didn't like that at all. Finally he blurted out "Mom, don't laugh at my non-joke!" Now that was funny!

The Mugging

Day 211

I have been debating whether or not to include stories and experiences from my LDS mission here on the blog. About a year ago I went through my mission journals and compiled all my experiences and made them into a book and scanned in all my pictures. This is my official Mission Journal and I am quite proud of this accomplishment.

But I have been going back and forth on if I should publish some of those stories here on the blog. On one hand, I have so many of them that I could easily fill the remaining 154 days with mission stories. On the other hand, am I being fair? I have already written my mission journal and isn't this cheating in a way? But then some of you readers may not have heard these stories and more than likely wouldn't have a chance (or would want to) read about my mission.

After a couple of weeks to think about it, I have decided to only share a few stories from my mission. If you are interested in reading my full 2-year account send me an e-mail and I will hook you up with it.

The experience that I am going to share is probably my most requested story to tell. It was the time that I mugged in Jamaica, Queens. Now I am going to warn you about my mission writings. I tell it like it is. If my companion is acting like an idiot, I say so in my journal. I wrote down exactly what I was thinking and feeling at the time. This is right out of my journal. To give you some background, I was serving in Jamaica, Queens. I was going on my second month with Elder Hardy and my fifth month in this area. Elder Hardy was a Canadian like myself and very humble too. He would not hurt a fly and was always concerned about how I was doing.

APRIL 4th 1994

I will always remember this day. The day started out all innocently enough. That morning we taught a discussion to this guy who called us prophets. Then we visited Judy and she still wants to be baptized, she just feels like this is moving quickly. We resolved any concerns she had and she is still as strong as she was before. That was the good part of the day, the rest of it quickly went downhill.

Elder Hardy and I during our best times.

Elder Hardy and I were heading home on our bikes and and there was a group of teenagers (about 10-12 of them) crossing the street. They were yelling at us to stop but we passed right by. Elder Hardy passed by first and I came up behind. One of the boys ran up to me and shoved me off my bike while I was riding. I crashed on the road and rolled a few times. They were all laughing at me and I turned to them and said “It isn’t funny picking on a church boy.” I put my bike upright and tried to get on but the bike seemed heavy. I looked down and saw another guy holding onto my back tire preventing me from taking off. He yelled “Gimme your bike!” and I yelled back “NO!” He said it once again louder, “GIMME YOUR BIKE!” and I screamed like a frightened old lady “NO!” I finally yanked it out of his grasp and as I was getting on, I saw something on my right. I turned my head and a big black teen came over and punched me right in the face! My head flew back all bloody and I let go of the bike and they all took off laughing.

I got up and watched them run off. By this time, Elder Hardy finally realized and watched what had happened (he was about 1-2 blocks away at the time) and he speedily rushed to my side. Only he didn’t stop. He muttered “Wait here a second” and flew off to the guys. There were only 2 guys, one on my bike and one running with the guy on my bike, the others scattered like cockroaches. Elder Hardy was a tall guy and his legs were pumping and he was also on a small decline. The kid running with the bike saw that he was coming and thought that he would be an easy target as well. He walked cockily over to Hardy and Hardy just ran him over!

Seriously. HE RAN HIM OVER!

All I saw was that poor guy’s legs fly straight up in the air! Hardy then almost lost control of his bike because of the collision and the kid on my bike jumped off and ran after Hardy. Hardy escaped and right when I was about to go get my bike, some other guy came and picked it up and ran with it. One of the neighborhood ladies saw what had happened and she came and asked if I was okay. I wasn’t hurt, I was just angry. She cleaned me up and said something like “I cannot believe Rodney would do that”. I asked what his name was and she didn’t want to tell me anything. I don’t blame her, she has to live in this neighborhood and I wouldn’t want to become involved if I was her either. I found out where one of the kids lived and that was good enough for me.

I bought a Mongoose Alta bike. We wrapped it with electricians tape so it looked more junky and unappealing to thieves. Guess that didn't work as well as I thought it would.

Elder Hardy still had not returned so I thought it would be best to start walking home on Jamaica Avenue. Jamaica Avenue is a busy road so I thought it would be the safest place. I thanked the lady and I started to walk over when Elder Hardy finally caught up with me. His bike was a mess. Both of his tires had large dents in them (probably from the kid's head) and his handle bars were bent forward from where he hit that kid in the waist. I asked him what in the world he was thinking when he took off after the gang. He said he was so angry and all he could think of was getting my bike back. He said he closed his eyes and kept going when he saw that one kid coming up. When he hit him he said it felt like running over a speed bump. This made me laugh, Elder Hardy didn’t think it was so funny. He felt so bad about hitting another person and I think it made him feel worse when I applauded him for doing it.

We walked home, I was angry and Hardy was shaken. We called President Child and he was glad that we were okay. He said to call the police and also recommended that we don’t share this with our parents. I called the police and they sent a car over.

I told them what had happened and that I have a name and address and we went over to crime scene. By this time, it was getting dark out. I ran into one of the girls that helped me out and spoke to her. I again thanked her for helping me and I reassured her that I was not going to mention her to the cops. I didn’t want to make life hard for her, it was only a bike and I was going to be alright. The cops searched the area for clues and then we went to the kid’s house. When we got there, there was already three other cop cars there knocking and beating on the doors. Unfortunately no one was home. The cops apologized and gave us a ride home. There really is nothing more they can do and it was just a bike, they have bigger fish to fry. I thanked them for their help and we walked inside.

Elder Williams and Geisting (another missionary companionship we lived with) laughed and laughed when I told them what happened. Hardy truly felt bad about it all and it was too easy and fun to make him feel even worse by saying stuff like, “Hey Hardy! I bet that kid will never pick on a tall white guy again! He is probably still at the hospital moaning!” Deep down, I hoped he was. What really burns me is not only did I lose my bike, I basically lost almost $400 which I paid for at the beginning of my mission. 

It was not the last time that I was mugged but it was the last time that I was assaulted on my mission. It took me a long time to finally forgive those kids. In looking back, I can say that at least I have quite a story to share with people. And I never told my family until I came home from my mission.

Did I Scare You?

Day 192

One of my favorite past times is scaring the holy hell out of people. I don't know why I love to do it but I must have learned it early on in my life. I used to love to scare my dad and my sister Jennifer a lot. I will have to blog about the time I scared my sister really good.

Just the other night I was in the computer room working and Kristy was about to go to bed. I had to go to the bathroom so I thought I better get upstairs before she did. She was still downstairs and I knew that if I ran full speed into the living room it would frighten her. And sure enough, I took off from the computer and ran right past her and it did scare her. She even lifted her leg up like they do in those cartoons.

Impromptu scares are the greatest. But sometimes if you do a little planning you can come up with a fantastic frightfest! I remember one time fondly where I totally scared the crap out of my soon-to-be-sister-in-law Raelene.

It was Thanksgiving weekend and Kristy and I were staying at Kristy's mom's house. We were flying out to Arizona to see the New York Jets play (that will be another blog post later) and we were just hanging around. Eric's girlfriend came over and they planned on watching a movie in his room. They invited me to watch the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre and I decided to watch it along with them. It got pretty hot in his room so Eric opened his window and I saw an opportunity.

I embarrassingly asked if they could pause the movie so I could use the bathroom. They did and I left the bedroom and ran into Kristy. I quickly told her to go into the bathroom and turn and make some noises. While she did that I slipped outside and ran into the backyard. I started to giggle as I was about to jump up into the window. I took a deep breath and composed myself and hopped up and struck the window with my hand and screamed.

And then I heard a horrible scream and I knew I scared the crap out of Raelene. It was one of those screams that you hear in those types of movies. I hurried back inside just as Kristy was flushing the toilet. I walked back into the bedroom acting like nothing happened. I asked why she was screaming and I got slugged hard in my arm.

But it was so worth it.

A Tale of Two Dreams

Day 126

Last night I caught a case of the giggles while sleeping. Kristy woke me up by poking me and when I woke up I was still giggling.

Before I was waken up, I was dreaming that my family and I was watching America's Funniest Videos (a family favorite show to watch) and in my dream I was telling Kristy and Logan that they needed to pay special attention to the show. But Kristy kept getting up and going into the kitchen during the show and I was afraid that she was going to miss a certain video. I had taken a video camera and scared the crap out of Kristy. She was napping on the couch and I made this Donald Duck noise and she woke up screaming in fear and I got it all on video. And I had sent that video to AFV. We saw the video and I started to giggle. And then Kristy woke me up and I was totally giggling.

It's too bad that my other dream that I had was as terrifying as the last one was funny.

I have often thought about keeping a Dream Journal. Where I would wake up and the first thing I would do is write down any lingering thoughts or dreams. I know a lot of writers that do this and they take those dreams and make them into dreams.

My next dream was not a happy one. I was on a pretty big boat in the middle of the ocean. I was with my dad and a set of guys I didn't know. There was a couple of kids with us. One of the kids was my neighbor and it was my job to watch her. They were all watching the news but I wouldn't. I was getting Krissy a drink of Kool-Aid when the boat was hit by this wave. It totally destroyed the boat and swept was all out. I tried to hold on to Krissy but she was swept out of my arms. I must have lost consciousness because the next thing I know I am waking up next to this island. I looked around to get my bearings and noticed that I was laying on a bunch of dead bodies. I walked on top of them closer to the beach and saw even more bodies. Some were sticking out of the sand. I then heard this horrible crunching noise and I knew that another wave was coming. I ran up the hill but I kept sinking into the mud so I had to use the dead bodies to steady myself. I made it up the hill and my dad was there. He helped me up and I asked him about the crew and he said he has not seen anyone. He broke down and said that he lost his kid (I guess we all had a kid we had to take care of) and we hiked up further on the hill. The crunching noise got louder and the island was hit by another wave. At this point I am not entirely sure if the wave was even water. But it hit the island hard and knocked us off our feet. We looked down and saw the water rise with all the mud and bodies and it crept closer to us. And then I woke up.

What the heck is up with that?

I don't mean to be so depressing but I thought it would be interesting to write these down.

And by the way, a did dream of tornadoes about a week or so ago. I think it would be interesting to see if I do dream of tornadoes monthly.