ALIEN MONSTERS FROM OUTER SPACE LAND IN MY BACKYARD

MY FATHER came whistling home with a new with a new science fiction book every week or so, and when he was done, I grabbed it as a dog grabs a bone. I ran off with it into my brothers-and-sisters-and-my bedroom to read and disappear into a world of silence, privacy and excitement. I stayed up late, reading under the covers with a flashlight. One night I fell asleep on the book only to be awakened by a loud thwacking sound seemingly coming from a blue and red light hovering over the olive trees. Paralyzed with terror, convinced that the slightest motion would attract the attention of the aliens, I lay stiff and silent for what seemed like hours. Finally, unable to bear the tension any longer I leaped off the top bunk, and fled howling with fear into my parents bedroom, crying that a flying saucer was landing in the backyard. My father took me back to bed, and put my glasses on my nose, and there hovering perhaps a quarter mile away was a helicopter. No question about it. I felt like an idiot.

February 16, 1994

Alien Monsters From Outer Space Land in My Backyard