"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."

Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Intruder

This morning was to be like any other morning.

At 5 am, I was to be gently awakened by NPR. I was to get up, don my running gear, head downstairs and grab a cup of coffee and then head for The Wiley to meet Bill for a training run.

That’s how this morning was supposed to be.

Instead at approximately 4:35 am, the serene moments of my early morning slumber were abruptly shattered by the ringing of the telephone. As I blindly flailed about in search of the source of the offending noise, Beth reached across me and picked up the receiver.

On the other line was my daughter Abbey.

I’m not sure exactly what clued me into the fact that this wasn’t a social call. Perhaps it was the early morning hour or maybe it was the loud panicky shrieking emitting from the telephone receiver. I can’t say for sure but whatever it was, it was sufficient to penetrate the fog that was my brain and cause me to leap from the bed.

Before I could retrieve my 12 Gauge, load it and bolt out the door however, I heard Beth calmly say, “Its ok. We’ll be right over.”

Now recognizing that whatever the reason for the apparent hysteria, it wasn’t severe enough to warrant firearms, I paused and asked, “What the hell is going on?”

Chuckling, she told me. We quickly woke Beth Anne, knowing her particular volunteer experience over the past few years would prove to be invaluable, and gathered the necessary implements for the task at hand before heading out the door.

Arriving at my daughter’s garage apartment in the pre-dawn darkness, she greeted us from the upstairs window. “He’s in the kitchen,” she screamed.

Up the stairs and into the apartment we proceeded. Initially we didn’t see him. We looked everywhere but it was as if he had mysteriously vanished.

And then suddenly, we heard him!

From his inadvertent and unintentional slip, we were able to pinpoint his location and immediately went on the offensive. There were three of us (my daughter was useless as all she could do was stand on the sofa and scream in terror) and only one of him but he was quick on his feet and did not go down easily.

After several tense minutes, it was over. Furniture was scattered helter-skelter and at least one of us was bleeding. But Beth had him. My daughter breathed a sigh of relief and my granddaughter came out of the bedroom to get a first hand look at the intruder.

As we placed the now secured culprit in the back of our Jeep for safe transport to the proper authorities, I realized I would be unable to keep my morning appointment with Bill. So I decided to send the girls on their way, knowing full well they could handle the situation should our captive try any funny business.

As they drove off into the morning’s early light, I set out to get in my miles with a run back to the house. And as I ran along, I wondered what other adventures this day might hold.

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur



6 comments:

Beth said...

Very cleverly written! We have been dubbed "The Possum Patrol". Beth Anne relocated the critter this P.M. at the recue. :)

Bill Lawfield said...

Would have gone nice with some mango salsa and coconut rice.

Fe-lady said...

What a way to wake up!
Your stories are priceless...make sure you keep copies for your kids/grandkids!

Anonymous said...

that morning goes down in history for one of the best/most hilarious ones i've had thus far ...

i still can't believe it happened.

poossum love :)

Beth said...

possum i mean.

Amy said...

What a story! And what a way to wake up! Keep them coming!