So get this. My Dad was playing golf over the weekend in Southern New Jersey when he hit a poor tee shot out into the wood-line where the grass was knee-high. While searching for his Nike ball he felt a sharp pain on his ankle which he immediately brushed off as a bee sting. Jump 24 hours ahead and his ankle is swollen to the size of a baseball and with much convincing from Mom, he decides to go to the doctor. What did the doctor tell him? He told Dad that in fact he was not stung by a bee but rather a poisonous copperhead snake.  What?

So, the doctor gave him meds, pain management drugs and hopefully a tetanus shot for good measure. But this begs the question, who gets bit by a snake and brushes it off as an insect bite/sting and has to be coerced into going to see a doctor? Well, the toughest dude I know, my Dad.  Sadly I am not near the man as my, well, old man is. Case in point.

I walked home from a goodbye party for a dear friend of one of my best friends. Was that confusing? Well, they are great friends of mine too but it is a far bigger impact on her since she has known them from the first time they started grad school. Living in a college town, it is inevitable that people do graduate and leave the nest. So where was I….oh yeah! I walked home very late and the mood was perfectly set: lightning storm, no one around on what normally is a very busy street, blowing wind and a slightly tipsy dude whistling “Love Will Keep Us Together”. And then I stumbled upon this.

 

Now keep in mind it was 2am, I had a few drinks and the over all ambiance was a tad unsettling so when I saw this I did stop and stare for a solid minute. It wasn’t a parking meter because it was on the side-walk and it was standing under the bus stop. But I am rational. Of course it couldn’t be this…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right? Because at that moment my 33 years on this Earth full of rational thought, this is where my mind went. So I walked closer, still not seeing exactly what this 3 and a half-foot figure was, standing on the side-walk at 2am in a thunder and lightning storm across from a convenience store appropriately name the “Murder Mart”. I am not making that up at all.

Still not entirely convincing even after my loud coughs and throat clearing that this was just a thing and not a thing. Looking at the photos now that it is sunny and I am sober, one can see that this isn’t paranormal but rather just some statue or object wrapped in plastic. But last night I wasn’t completely sure and cautiously approached, gingerly stepped much like a cat staring down a laser pointer.

I remember when I was in a combat unit over seas and carried a belt-fed machine gun and live hand grenades. Good to know that guy is still around. *eye roll*

So…a chuckle ensued as I finally was close enough to see that this wasn’t a 3 foot devil or menacing midget from a black mass party. No. It was just a credit card pay-meter that are being installed all over Chapel Hill. I know I lost cool points for this but ask yourself this, looking at the first picture, can you perhaps see where I was coming from? Ok. I know.

I need to lay off the scary movies for a minute. Sheesh.