“M.J.” MEMORIES:

Although he was a little wacka-doodle at times…ok, most of the time, Michael Jackson’s music was there for some good memories in my life. His record “Bad” was played over and over and over when I was little. I’m sure my mom can vouch for the obsession.
On our Spring Break drive to Las Vegas in High School, 6 girls crammed into a car and sang to Jackson 5 at the top of their lungs all the way there, I think we memorized every song. Anybody remember that? I now also know the entire “Thriller” dance thanks to the Hip Hop dance class at the Gym. We learn it for two weeks right before Halloween and then dress up the last day. Always a good time walking into the Gym dressed in “Thriller” garb and dancing the night away while everybody else sweats on the treadmill.

40 days and 40 nights...

Why do I feel like this is the same week after week? It's June right? At least we don't have to water the lawn but it would be nice to have summer be summer. I'll be cursing the 104 degrees in August so I should enjoy, right!?

I swear officer, that is all I know...

For about a week we’ve been getting thunderstorms starting about 9 or 10 at night and since we haven’t turned on the A/C unit yet, we sleep with the windows open to the sound of thunder, rain, wind and all the other ‘night noises’. I seem to have some insomnia lately too so my sleep is not sleep, but rather napping for a couple hours at a time. This is all irrelevant….

On Tuesday night, I’d just fallen asleep and was in the stage of ‘did I just hear something’ when KABOOOM!!! I hear something I was sure was similar to the sound of a gunshot. Tyler of course hears nothing. I get up and look out the window to see a small sedan drive down the road. I go back to bed and hear another car drive down the road about 3 minutes later. In my half-awake state I lay there and listen for the sounds of sirens or something. When I hear nothing, I then start thinking, “somebody has been shot in the Church parking lot across the street and has been left for dead” Then I start thinking, “what if they are still alive but wounded and they are going to drag themselves to our doorstep” So in my panic, I go to the front door and make sure it is tightly locked. Not that I wouldn’t want to help somebody who is wounded but by now its about 1:00 a.m…Remember, I am freaking myself out this whole time while Tyler is sleeping soundly. By the next morning I open the garage and make sure there isn’t a body lying on our lawn and quickly peek in the church parking lot to see if I can see anything. Nothing…..

About 12:00 the next afternoon Tyler calls me and asks “did you hear something last night?” UH, YES!!! I knew I wasn’t crazy!! Seems that the community mailbox in front of our house got blown up! I went home for lunch a little later to this sight:

Ed, our mailman had to pry the doors open and get all the mail out to deliver to the neighbors. While he huffed and puffed, another guy in a van from the Postal Service just stood there, Chubbuck City Police just stood there, and then another lady from who knows where just stood there and made this comment to me “um, maybe next time you could call the cops instead of just try to wake up your husband who goes back to sleep” I said, “you know, I wasn’t sure what is was, thunder, a car back-firing, or if it was just in my sleep” I proceeded to turn around and walk inside. I’m pretty sure Chubbuck City couldn’t have gotten there in time to see the vandals. I barely got a glimpse of the car in the time it took me to get out of bed and walk 10 feet to the window. And, remember, its Chubbuck, ‘nough said.

About 10 minutes later another Postal Service truck shows up, two men get out and unscrew the bolts and haul it away. This is what we get in front of our house now…GETTO. Thanks a lot MAILBOX – BLOWER-UPPERS.