“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Last night we had thunder and lightning but little rain. It fell in giant drops then smaller drops then it disappeared. The morning is dark and dank. We had fog. The temperature is in the mid-70’s and won’t get much higher. Tonight will be in the 60’s. It seems we’re having a cold spell, at least in comparison.
Yesterday I got all my chores done, even the dreaded laundry. I also went down cape to Orleans. The highway traffic was light and quick. After I finished my errand, I took the highway home. I could see the traffic build-up on the down cape side. I had just missed it.
When I was a kid, my mother used to play a game she called Jack and Jill. She’d put a small band of paper on the same finger of each hand then put both fingers on the table. She’d say, Go away, Jack,” then move her hand up over her shoulder. When she brought her hand down, Jack was gone. She did the same with Jill. We were amazed. We looked behind her back and on the floor but couldn’t find Jack or Jill. Next, she’d say, “Come back, Jack,” then put her hand over her shoulder. When she brought her hand to the table, Jack was back. She then brought Jill back. We thought my mother was a magician. How did she do it?
My father used to tell us scary stories. I will never forget the man with the hook who used to scratch screens. That one scared me. My father and mother usually went grocery shopping on Friday evenings. My mother didn’t drive then so my father had to take her. He used to wait in the car. I remember I was watching TV and waiting for them to get home when I heard it, the scratching on the screen. I yelled, “Who is it,” but got no answer, but I knew who it was, the man with the hook. The story my father had told us was real, but it wasn’t. It was my father without a hook.
Despite the man with the hook, I wasn’t afraid of much while growing up, not spiders or ghosts or creatures of the night. I am still not afraid, not even of the man with the hook.
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August 27, 2022 at 3:42 pm
Hi Kat,
The cool spell continues with partly cloudy skies and a high temperature of 96°. There’s a slight chance of rain.
When I was a kid an uncle showed me the trick of rubbing a coin into your forearm while resting your elbow on the table and your hand under your chin. He eventually showed me how the trick worked and I had a lot of fun playing it on my younger sister.
I didn’t like scary movies as a kid, especially the 1954 version of, “War of the Worlds”. That movie gave me nightmares for a long time. I still won’t watch it nor the more recent versions.
Your dad was much more fun than mine. My dad would never think of playing tricks on us nor scaring us. He was very boring. He always told me that the only reason he had children was because my mother wanted children. He was one of the first recipients of a vasectomy when they became a procedure in the late 1950s. Once I asked him if we could get a dog. He replied, “Why would I want a pet, I have you two kids?”
August 27, 2022 at 9:23 pm
Hi Bob,
It got humid today for a while but has since gotten cooler and far less humid. It is down to 68°. I have the windows open and can feel a breeze from the window here in the den. It is a nice feeling.
I’m sure you took great delight in teasing your sister!
War of the Worlds, the original, is one of my favorite science fiction movies from the 50’s (THEM is my favorite). The remake was good, but I do have a fondness for the original. It didn’t scare me, not even the creatures. I think it must have been because I had read so many since fiction novels when I was a kid.
My dad was great fun. He was a good guy and a wonderful father. He had great stories. My cousins remember when he’d visit he’d tell them stories before they went to bed. He was also quite generous. He died too young, in his mid-60’s. I thought it was just horribly unfair. I still miss him. (We had a dog too).