It was a long weekend. This week will be a long week. Unfortunately I need to be online for work at 6AM for conference calls. Not a big deal. I’m usually up at that time anyway. Just means I won’t be able to hit the snooze button is all. I can deal with that.

We did a little shopping yesterday, had some great food at the Cheesecake Factory. I’m a sucker for a good shepherd’s pie and they do make a good shepherd’s pie. I love me meat, potatoes, and veggies all rolled into one. Oh yes I do. I even have leftovers for this morning that I’ll have with an egg on top. Just sounds good. Of course we also had cheesecake to bring home (too full to heat it there.)

So last night we got home pretty early. I had intended to sit and write for a couple of hours. After cheering for my favorite daughter, driving, shopping, eating, eating some more, well, needless to say my brain just wasn’t about to get into gear. Didn’t matter what I did, creativity eluded me. It was one of those night’s I should have followed my own rules, but hey, life happens from time to time.

I will get writing done today. I will get work done today first which includes some training courses I need to take. But tonight words will fly! Or so I hope 🙂

Yesterday I mentioned I had some stories from the base I used to work on. I’ll have fun posting those. Here’s the first.

Rumors abounded that the base had 1) been built on old Native America territory and 2) multiple sightings had been made over the years the base had been in operation of ghosts, strange lights, odd fires, and unexplained events. There were many stories and I, being a skeptic, ignored them all and usually had fun playing pranks on people. This wasn’t a prank.

Fire on the base:

Working at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station I did the night shift. My schedule changed from time to time, but it was mostly from 6PM to 6AM with 6 hours on post and 6 hours off. Some nights it would be gate watch where I could sit and write or read being that I was rarely bothered. Mostly it was on patrol in a small Chevy truck. The supervisors had larger four wheel drive Chevy Blazers because the little trucks would get stuck from time to time on patrol and we had some areas that were inaccessible.

On one particular night on patrol I got a call. My supervisor was on his way to meet me. Someone had called in from outside the base that there was a fire in the middle of one of the fields. Being that it was in the middle of the field I couldn’t drive my little truck out there, I needed 4W drive.

He drove out and met me behind one of the bunkers. I stood up on the side where I could get a good view of the fire. It looked more like a large bonfire and sure enough, it was in the middle of the field where I couldn’t get to it. It could have been a trick of light or it could have been people, but I saw, and reported people around the fire.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to break onto the base. “I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at this facility.” That was standard mantra even though security guards were well aware of when nukes were on the base and somehow the public would find out as well and often lay across the entrances to the base in protest until the police arrived to escort them away for interfering with base operations.

Eventually my supervisor arrived in his Blazer with a few fire extinguishers. By this time we had reports from multiple people outside the base about this fire. We had alerted the police and fire departments that the fire was in an unused portion of the base, not easily accessible and currently posed no threat to personnel. There was no need for them to come and assist until we had assessed the size of the fire and if we’d be able to put it out on our own. Even so, the fire department had been called by civilians living across the street from the base and firetruck sat on the other side of the face much too far away to do anything about the fire.

My supervisor and I drove around the bunker, slowly due to there being no road and the field being filled with large dips and rises and tall grasses. The entire time we kept in contact with the main base keeping them appraised of the situation.

Now this is where things got weird. We stopped to try and determine where we were in the field with relation to the fire. The grass was tall and driving through it difficult. I had opened my door and stood looking over the top of the Blazer. I heard something that sounded much like an earthquake. Living in Southern California you hear many before you feel them. I told my supervisor that I thought an earthquake was coming, but the sound changed. He turned out the lights to help us get a better bearing on the fire. I could smell smoke. I could see the glow. I could hear the nearing rumble.

I can neither confirm no deny that a horse jumped over the hood of the Blazer as I stood there. I can neither confirm no deny that the horse had a rider that looked very much like a Native America brandishing a spear.

What I can confirm is this. 1) The glow of the fire disappeared. 2) The rumble stopped. 3) The fire department called our base to congratulate us on putting the fire out. Both my supervisor and I were given letters of accommodation by the captain of the base for our diligence in handling the situation.

In the dark of the field, we emptied the fire extinguishers and our bladders. In the dark of the field we both confirmed and denied what we saw. In the dark of that field, my skepticism found it first true challenge with something I could not explain.

I had the watch for the rest of the night and I had the heebie-jeebies for the rest of that watch. As the sun started to come up, I made my way back to the fence-line on the edge of the field. I stood on top of my truck and I saw the scorched area where the fire had burned. No other vehicles had been in the area as all vehicles were accounted for as well as all personnel during the situation. The firetruck would have been at least two hundred yards away. I couldn’t make out any path or tracks through the field that led to the scorched area. I never spoke of that fire again.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Believe what you want, I know what I experienced. I’ll have more for you in the coming days.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!