Cross-posted from SpaceParanoids.net. Please leave your comments there.

Let me set the stage.

It was a little past seven o’clock last Thursday evening.  The weather was very foggy that night, and the sun sets before five this time of year, so it was really dark and nasty outside.  Danielle was easing Ethan into his bedtime routine, and I was fiddling with some hardware in my office.

I heard distant police sirens and fire engine horns growing steadily louder.  Our neighborhood is usually pretty quiet.  We don’t get a lot of police chases or gang shootouts.  But the sirens grew louder still, and I could see the flashing lights through my office blinds.  A moment later the noise reached its ear-splitting cacophonous crescendo of police, ambulance, and fire sirens, along with occasional loudspeaker announcements too distorted to make out.  I decided to investigate what was going down.

I peeked out the front door, and I saw a massive fleet of police and emergency vehicles across the street a few houses down.  Neighbors were all coming out to see.  Some people were shuffling up the street toward our house.  I was sure I smelled smoke.

I retreated inside, and Danielle and Ethan were there staring out the living room window.  Ethan looked absolutely terrified.  The noise was unbearable.  We had no idea what was happening.  Was there a fire?  An industrial accident?  A natural disaster?  I was ready to pack a bag and say goodbye to all my worldly possessions forever.

As a ladder truck crept past our house, we finally heard a voice on the loudspeaker we could understand.  It boomed THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TO SUPPORT THE CHRISTMAS PARADE.

Tags: minutiae

Cross-posted from SpaceParanoids.net. Please leave your comments there.

Yesterday I asked Ryan if he wanted to join me for a Posey’s run.  While I enjoy Ryan’s company during the short walk to the convenience store and back, I had an additional motive.  Because I wasn’t carrying cash, I figured I would use my check card to buy a lemonade and a Hostess apple pie, plus whatever Ryan wanted.  You see, my snack alone wouldn’t have satisfied the five-dollar minimum requirement for debit purchases.

A problem arose.  Ryan had just returned from Posey’s, and he didn’t need any snacks.  He just wanted to get out of the office.  Being the awesome guy he is, he offered to lend me cash.

The lemonade, pie and sales tax came to $2.89.  Ryan opened his wallet to find naught but two singles.  I was just about to add $2.11 worth of Slim Jims to my order, but figured I ought to check all my pockets for hidden monies.  I pulled all the coins from my bluejeans to reveal exactly two quarters, three dimes, a nickel and four pennies.  Providence.

I left the store feeling satisfied that occasionally things work out well for me.  And for perhaps the first time in my life, I used the phrase “I’m blogging this.”  So I did.

And now for an unrelated anecdote.

Danielle made the most awesome sandwiches for dinner last night.  She whipped up some tiny meatloaves that were baked in mini-muffin tins, and served them on rolls with mayo and provolone.  It sounds like a typical meatball sub on paper, but I promise you it was so much more.  Maybe it was the bakery-fresh bread or the deli-sliced cheese or the tangy red sauce the mini-loaves simmered in.  Whatever it was, the taste was like coming face-to-face with sandwich Jesus.  (Mmmmmmm, sarelicious.)

I’m very much looking forward to tonight’s leftovers.

Tags: minutiae