It was a great partnership, their family and ours. Their three children corresponded perfectly in gender and ages with my sister, brother, and I. Everyone got along well, adults and children alike. Every weekend and several nights of the week (during spring and summer) we spent gathered at one house or the other. We spent our late spring and early summers at their house because the apricot were ripe. Starting at the age of four, I worked at their house cutting apricots for the drying sheds. The smell of sulphur yanks me right back to those early years of my life.
It was one of those typical evenings in Hollister. The weather was perfect and it was during that window of time between irrigating the orchards and picking fruit. That meant there was little we could do in terms of damaging the irrigation ditches and wouldn’t be throwing rotted fruit at one another. We had free reign of the “ranch.”
On such a night, as the sun tipped its face toward the horizon, we had an experience I will never forget. We had spent a good part of the day playing hide and seek, climbing trees, and having dirt clod wars. The kids came in for dinner that consisted of baloney sandwiches (with Miracle Whip (yuck) and barbeque potatoe chips. Then it was time to play after dinner games until it got too dark to see. It was the weekend and our bedtimes were later than the usual weeknights. My sister, brother, and I were respectively eight, three, and six. It was a huge deal to be able to stay up late!
We hadn’t harassed Jack, the donkey in a few hours. It was time for torture. We didn’t really torture him. We picked on him because he was the next lower step in the evolution of our families. Parents picking on children, older siblings picking on younger siblings and all that. It was only natural we turned to picking on Jack that night because we were actually getting along. All six of us…at the same time!
Jack was in the part of the property that was open. I ran up to him, stuck my butt in front of his face shaking it. “Neener, neener, neener!” I yelled and took off running across the yard in my zories (rubber flip flops). Never one to miss the chance to torture us kids, Jack took the bait and took off running after me. I had a head start because Jack was a little dumb and it took longer for his brain to make up his mind.
I ran toward the river where there was s big old tree with a giant low branch. Even now I can smell the euclalyptus trees that lined the river banks. I jumped up on that branch just before Jack skidded to a halt. Before I could pull my legs up, Jack got one my zories. He pulled on the zorie as I pull my feet up.
The other kids ran back and forth to distract Jack and retrieve my zorie. I can still hear Jack’s braying. Zorie retrieved, game over! Jack knew when it was time to quit. He was sorely outnumbered.
Just beyond the eucalyptus trees lay the river. On this night hovering just above the river was this huge spinning object made of mulicolored lights. We didn’t see it until we heard the low drone emitting from it. There we were…six children below the age of ten…transfixed by this unearthly object. I recall not being able to run or look away.
I’m not sure how long we stood there. But suddenly, as though someone cued us with a loud snap of the fingers, we took off running as fast as our youth could take us. Six sets of fists pounded on the back door of the house. “Open the door!” The door was locked. We hear the sound of the lock as the door opens just a crack and a hand comes out with a box of “Monster Cookies.” All of our voices are combined into a roar that says only “scared, lights, something big.” A voice comes from behind the door that says, “Go scare them away with these Monster cookies!”
Twenty-five years later we are in the company of our childhood friends. “Did that really happen?” I asked. “Oh, yes. It was real. In fact, the local newspaper had an article in the ’25 years ago today’ section’ about a UFO hovering above the river.”
This past year I was talking with my mother. She says she remembers that evening and that she also saw the UFO. Forty something years later we both wonder why we never talked about it. Mom reminded me that shortly before or after that event, we were driving in the car to our friends’ house and saw a light in the sky which we chased until it disappeared.
I often wonder what, if anything, happened that night down by the river. I also wonder if this event was what prompted my reply to the question, “Now that you’re finally pregnant after five years and tens of thousands of dollars, is there anything that scares you?”
“I’m afraid aliens will steal my baby…”
Anthony and I experienced some paranormal activity on separate ocassions only to learn one night together it was my mother. Nice website, Sally and that is a very nice picture of you. Your so pretttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttty!