Reverse 911

The phone rang in the dead of night. My sister picked it up just listening, expecting the worst. Isn’t it always bad at 3AM? The line was dead, yet when she queried Hello? A computer-generated voice identified itself as the Reverse 911 system. There was a tornado cell in her immediate area. She was advised to take cover. She stayed in bed, but flipped on the weather channel to see what was going on. Sure enough there was a red tornado cell over town but it passed north of them. An hour or so later, the phone rang again to announce the all clear.

I had never heard of this type of arrangement before. She said this was her first call. The entire county and maybe the whole state is using it. The amazing thing is that it can pinpoint the danger and call those in the area. I don’t know how this works if you don’t have a published phone number or if you only use a cell phone.

Interesting. Do you have this in your community? I don’t think we do.

Cruising the streets

One of my favorite things to do at this time of year is drive around the neighborhoods to look at the Christmas lights, although perhaps I should say displays. Lord knows they are bigger, bouncier and more animated than ever. After dinner with friends last week, we drove on snowy roads listening to Nat King Cole sing Yuletide carols. We crept along admiring and often laughing at what people had done to their homes.

Some houses had no decorations that we could see. Others were subdued with only a lighted tree in the window. Most of them though had some outside lights. There were the ubiquitous white lights everywhere from icicles to those shrub nets. One house had an enormous lighted palm tree. (We actually stopped and backed up to get a better view.) Many houses had articulated reindeer or angels. We paused to see if they would move or not---whooping in delight if the angel’s wings flapped or the reindeer munched the snow. The little girl in me still prefers the multi-colored lights. It is so much prettier in the black and white winter night.

I have to confess that I dislike the craze for inflatables. But my friend in Minnesota had a good point. They do look nice in the daytime when the holiday lights are not on. Most of the blow-up ornaments are holiday specific. The snow globes are even clever. I have seen one left over Halloween inflatable of Garfield and a random Scooby though. Odd. Why would you still inflate them?

My house? Well it has candles in the windows and the tree upstairs this year. The tree will come down after Epiphany but I will leave the candles in the windows until late January.

Bedtime

“Shhhh! Listen…. Do you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“Listen.”

“I hear crickets.”

“No…more than that.”

“I hear a horse”

“Yes, that. But it’s not a horse.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s night time.”

“So? Why can’t it be a horse?”

“Where are there any horses near here?”

“There are horses by Brian's house.”

“That is 6 miles from here.”

“Is that too far?”

“Yes.”

“So. What it is?”

“A bird.”

“A bird?”

“Yes.”

“Is it the Whip bird?”

“Good guess, but not this time.”

“That is the only nighttime bird I know.”

“You know more than that.”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. What is a night time bird that whinnys?”

“I don’t know.”

“What is the most common night time bird?”

“I don’t know.”

“What is Harry Potter’s bird?”

An Owl?”

“Yes.”

“That is an owl?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t owls supposed to hoot?”

“Not all owls hoot. Some whinny.”

“Mommmmmy.”

“Really. It’s a Screech Owl.”

“Shouldn’t it Screech?”

“I don’t know why they call it that.”

“How do you know so much?”

“I have heard them before. When I lived on the farm.”

“Oh, before me.”

“Yes, honey. Before you.”

"Mommy, can I have an owl?

"No, we are muggles, we don't keep owls."

“Screech Owl, Screech Owl, Screeech Owwwwl Screcchh.…..”

Sheila kissed Teddy’s head. She picked up the latest Harry Potter from the nightstand and tiptoed out the door. She paused in the hallway to listen to the tremolo of the owl and made a mental note to buy him a bird book for his birthday. He would soon be 10. Maybe it was time for a big boy present.