One or Two Aspirins

There are quiet times in the life of a city. Those are the nights when there are no arrests, no accidents on the roads and no “news” to speak of at all.

It is certainly an odd occurrence, but it does occur from time to time. There doesn’t seem to be any good reason for this phenomenon, but there are plenty of theories. Some of the theories are celestial in origin, the moon is full, half or new, the planets are aligned and have some kind of physical “pull” on our planet and I have even heard that a “dark” comet passes close to earth every now and then. It could be a natural cycle where every living thing on earth is reset back a baseline. Maybe it is just that everyone is tired at the same time. No one really knows.

Well, I do, but I found out by accident and no one is going to believe me.

Last night, I had a sore neck, so being an old hippie; I took an assortment of over the counter drugs, hoping to numb the pain long enough to fall asleep and perhaps the mixture might actually cure my sore neck. The one thing it did is put me to sleep without having my brain review the day’s events at all, it was head hits the pillow and I get unconscious. Wonderful!

I came reluctantly awake around three in the morning with a low buzzing in my head. At first, I thought it might be the mix of drugs, but as it continued and I became more awake, it was obvious that the noise was coming from outside. I thought it might be one of my inconsiderate neighbours working on a car in their garage in the middle of the night. I looked out the window and just saw darkness from the neighbours. However, to the northeast the sky was lit up like it was Christmas.

I tried to wake Louise up to see, but she wouldn’t wake. That’s not normal; she is a light sleeper and should have already been awake. Her breathing was deep and regular, she just wouldn’t wake up. Even Buster stayed asleep at the foot of the bed which is really weird. I’m not brave, but I am curious, so I pulled on a shirt and a pair of pants and went outside to see what was going on.

The buzzing was louder outside, but I couldn’t see much. I pulled out the ladder and climbed on to the roof of the garage. From there I could see what I can only describe as flying saucers flying in and out of the light like bugs around a streetlight. Okay, this is nuts! Should I get in the car and go check this out? No freakin’ way.

I took my bike. I figured if I need to hide, it’s easier to hide with a bike than a car with headlights and a hot engine. There was no one and nothing on the roads at all. Nothing! I rode down the centre of the street, coming closer and closer to the lights and flying saucers. I rode to a place where I had an unobstructed view, and it seemed as if they were either moving things in or out. I was hoping out. They were coming in and out of a large cloud that seemed to be lit from the inside. Maybe the mother ship?

Like I said, I am not brave so I rode back home sticking to the shadows whenever possible. I parked the bike, went inside, got undressed and back into bed after taking another handful of pills.

Today when I woke up, the world was back to normal with cars driving, horns honking and in all respects, business as normal. There is no way I am going over to where I saw all of the activity last night. Maybe in a day or two I’ll drive in that direction, but maybe I’ll just let the little mystery stay a mystery. I’m not that curious either.

Maybe the next time I have a sore neck, I’ll just take one or two aspirins.