The Joke: Page 13

 

Blue strobe lights.

Winking, blinking.

Against dense fog.

Like azure cotton candy.

Winding country roads.

Dark, like tree-lined tunnels.

Telephone poles and mailboxes, quickly passing.

Glancing from ditch to ditch.

A deer?

Moonlight behind trees.

Tall gnarled fingers disappearing into a night-blackened sky.

“Are we close?”

“No, not yet. We was a long ways in the country. Maybe three more miles.”

Radio lights blink in sequence.

Dispatcher speaks in monotone.

Stolen car on interstate.

Disturbance in West End.

Shoplifter at convenience store, Third and Bellview.

More lights blink.

More telephone poles.

More curves.

Tires squeal.

Then…

“There. Right there.”

“Body’s in the woods, to your left.”

“Drug him across the ditch right there.”

“See where the weeds are knocked down?”

Guns drawn.

Flashlights.

Leaves crunch.

Twigs snap.

Careful.

Don’t disturb scene.

Gun-leather creaking.

Keys jingle.

“Where?”

Shrug.

“Thought it was here.”

“Maybe there.”

“Everything looks the same.”

“I was scared.”

Humidity high.

Sweating.

Vests like dense clay.

Hours pass.

Spider webs.

Flies.

Dogs.

Noses to ground.

Mosquitoes.

Hundreds of mosquitoes.

Nighttime yields to dawn.

Light pushes through tree canopies.

Like translucent yellow wands.

“I found it!”

A man.

No, it’s a boy.

Leaves and pine needles.

Eyes closed, mouth open.

Hands bound in back.

Gray duct tape.

Nose and mouth.

Insects in and out.

Like cars on the 101.

Sickening.

Cameras.

Measuring.

Gathering.

9mm casings.

Execution.

Gansta wannabes.

Interrogation.

“Didn’t know gun was loaded.”

“Took it from Dad’s nightstand.”

“A joke.”

“Honest.”

“It was just a…”

“Joke.”

“Wanted to scare him…”

Teenagers.

One dead.

Four in prison.

Life sentences.

A joke.

Just a joke…

Joining Dax for a walk

 

Dax invites you to see some of his favorite things, and to meet a few of his friends. So, please, put on your walking shoes and follow along.

Church

Frog in garden pond

Guinea fowl

Berries

Dax searching for more fun

Dove feather caught on a branch

Blackberries

A turkey visits from neighboring farm

Dragonfly

Nothing like napping with a good friend after a long day…

*     *     *

Dax’s best friend, Paul Beecroft, has spent a good deal of his life in law enforcement, in England. He’s worked Foot Patrol, Area Car, Instant Response Car and also as a Police Motorcyclist. He currently serves as a coroner’s investigator and has traveled all over England, Wales, Scotland and even Germany to investigate crimes.

 

 

Storm Serge

 

Here’s what it looks like in my neighborhood when a hurricane (Irene in 2011) passes by at 200 miles offshore.

By the way, this lifeguard stand is normally far away from the water’s edge.

So, everyone in the path of Sandy, please take all precautions.

Stay safe, everyone.

 

Quiet day in our neighborhood

 

Y’all come back!

 

Auckland New Zealand

 

*     *     *

Photos courtesy of Paul Beecroft

Paul Beecroft has spent a good deal of his life in law enforcement, in England. He’s worked Foot Patrol, Area Car, Instant Response Car and also as a Police Motorcyclist. He currently serves as a coroner’s investigator and has traveled all over England, Wales, Scotland and even Germany to investigate crimes.

 

Snakes on a Blog

 

We took a long trip last weekend, and on the way home decided to stop in South Carolina to stretch our legs. If we’d known what lurked in the shadows, brush, and pools of water on either side of the trail…well, see for yourself. I’m sure glad I had my cellphone handy.

The things I do for this blog…

Fifty yards from the car, the sound of rattles grew louder with each step we took.

Around every turn.

Beside every rock.

We didn’t dare turn back.

They were everywhere.

Wading into the water didn’t help.

The wetlands presented new dangers.

If only we could find a way out of the jam we’d gotten ourselves into.

Finally, we reached a point where we were surrounded by pure horror. The time had come when we faced only two options. Large teeth to our right, and to our left was…well, I can’t even bring myself to type the words. You’ll see what I mean below.

**Warning…the following photos may cause you to scream and run away from your computers**

*

*

*

*

*

*

Waiting for us on the left was a beast with outstretched arms and muscles as hard as stone.

I nearly fainted when this creature let out its eardrum-piercing battle cry.

There was nowhere to hide. Their lookouts saw us no matter where we turned.

I knew it was nearly over for us when they began to come from the skies, too. The winged creatures were as big as army tanks.

There would be no escaping this one.

The keeper of the grounds laughed out loud when we thought running inside would offer protection.

But the strange beasts were there as well.

Miraculously, though, we found a side exit near our car. We ran to it and locked ourselves inside. I hit the gas and left that place with tires spinning and screaming across the hot asphalt, as a three-story giant dared us to come back.

We’d barley escaped death at this place called South of the Border, and I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from the experience, or if the nightmares will ever go away.

But I offer you this warning…if you’re ever traveling on I95 and see a giant man wearing a sombrero…well, just beware. I assure you there’s a blue jean-and-wife-beater-t-shirt-wearing gorilla somewhere nearby.

I’m still shaking…

 

Paradise in N.C.

 

Our Weekend Road Trip this week takes us to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. First stop, Jockey’s Ridge, the tallest sand dune in the eastern United States. The height of the dunes vary from 80 to 120 feet depending upon the weather and winds.

Jockey’s Ridge is located in Nags Head, N.C., home of world-record fishing, shipwreck remains, and the pirate, Blackbeard.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the country. Standing at 208 feet tall, it’s also the tallest brick lighthouse. The light’s beacon can be seen 20 miles out to sea, warning sailors of the dangerous Diamond Shoals off the coast of Hatteras.

In 1999, the 6,250 ton Hatteras Lighthouse was moved further inland due to an ever-eroding shoreline. A circle of stones marks the lighthouse’s original site. In the photo above, the lighthouse can be seen in it’s new location.

Names of former lighthouse keepers are engraved in each stone in the circle.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, N.C. was first lit on December 1, 1875. It remains unpainted to distinguish it between the two nearby black-and-white-striped lighthouses.

The marsh near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse

Walkway through the marsh

 

A family of geese enjoy their protected status

Beach at Nags Head

Nags Head coastline

Footprints in the sand are the only sign of human presence. Part of the attraction to Nags Head is the seclusion.

 

Winslow Arizona

 

Turn up the A/C because this week we’re headed to Arizona’s Painted Desert.

First stop, Meteor Crater.

 

Meteor Crater is located just off Interstate 40, near Flagstaff.

Drive twenty miles to the east and you can stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona (you have to be an Eagles fan to get that one).

 

Fifty-thousand years ago, a 150 foot wide meteorite struck the earth at 40,000 miles per hour. The result—a 700 foot deep crater (it’s 550 feet deep today) that’s 4,000 feet across and 2.4 miles in circumference.  In the photo above you’ll see an observation platform in the lower right corner. That tiny yellowish speck at the end of the platform is a full-grown man.

 

The Painted Desert stretches from the Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest, covering nearly 94,000 acres.

 

pd3.jpg

Petrified tree bridge

 

 

 

Here’s a video that’s sure to bring a smile to your face. Happy weekend.

*Remember, the deadline for the WPA Golden Donut Short Story Contest is tomorrow night at midnight!!

Pearl Harbor revisited

 

*Photographs by Paul Beecroft

Paul Beecroft has spent a good deal of his life in law enforcement, in England. He’s worked Foot Patrol, Area Car, Instant Response Car and also as a Police Motorcyclist. He currently serves as a coroner’s investigator and has traveled all over England, Wales, Scotland and even Germany to investigate crimes.