First My Frog, Now My Pumpkin

 Hi, Friends.

Long time, no blog! There's been quite a lot going on in my life. If you know me, then you already know. Heck, if you follow me on social media at all then you already know, too. I'm not going into it again here.

We have more important things to discuss. Like my pumpkin.

It snowed here last night for the first time this winter. I'm not a fan of snow -- "chunky rain" as I call it. I will grudgingly admit that it is pretty at first. Otherwise I'm over it. 

So, this morning I went outside to take the obligatory First Snow! pictures that people post every year. (You can find them on my Instagram if you're really curious.) It was all going well until I got around to the front of the house and saw this:

And we'll have Halloween on Christmas

That's actually what I was going to post on Instagram, until I took a second look.

Yeah. I did not leave my pumpkin in the street. It had been very happily chilling on my front steps with my four other pumpkins since Halloween.The other four were still on the steps. (I've brought them inside now. It's time for them to go take a rest until next year.)

The carved pumpkins came in after Halloween. The green circle denotes where my pumpkin had been living.

The pumpkins are foam. Just felt the need to explain that I didn't have slowly decaying pumpkins as decor to welcome people to my home.

As you can see, Road Pumpkin was right side up in the street. If it was the wind then I would have expected to be chasing Road Pumpkin and its brethren all over the street, scooping them off of the neighbors' lawns and bringing them home. Nor do I think it was the neighborhood wildlife. We have a lot of critters around here. Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit, but I'm pretty sure they would have just knocked the pumpkin off the steps and rolled it around. 

No. This reminds me of the morning back in my May when my guitar-playing frog solar light was found busking in the road.

He was really quite talented. Clearly had a fan.

He had been happily living on the side of my front lawn, a spot he had hung out in for multiple summers without ever feeling the need to stretch his legs and take his talents on the road.

Sadly, he is no more. After his exciting adventure in the world of busking, something or someone stepped on him and cracked his light. Rest in peace, buddy. 

The point of all this, Friends, is that I don't know what the hell is going on. I could see someone wandering down the street and deciding to be an ass and move guitar frog in May when it's relatively warm out. Who the hell goes wandering the streets on the night it snows for the first time and moves a single pumpkin? Like nothing else on the entire street seems out of place.

And the only other time anyone has touched my pumpkins at all, ever, was a few years ago. A less than sober gentleman was stumbling his way down the street one fine autumn evening. He was mad about something, picked up one of my pumpkins and tried to smash it on the ground while yelling, "Stupid pumpkin!" He was very confused when the pumpkin did not smash, but bounced. He did this for several minutes, as I was inside contemplating whether or not I should call the police. Eventually he gave up, waved his hands in defeat and staggered off down the road. But even the drunk guy left the pumpkin on my lawn! He was totally going to smash it, but was polite enough to do it on the lawn and not on my sidewalk.

So let me hear your best guess! 

Super talented wild life that can gingerly pick up the foam pumpkin by its small stem top and deposit it standing upright in the street? 

Random animal knocked it off the steps and it just so happened to roll into the road and land upright?

Someone is messing with me, but they are taking their time and only messing with my lawn decor once every six months?

A very, very precise wind blew through and only moved that one pumpkin off of the front steps?

I'm all ears for your ideas.

Dear Spectrum

Hi there, Friends!

Long time no see, right? I knew it had been a while since I posted anything here. I didn't realize it had been over a year. That's a little pathetic on my part. I apologize

But guess what? Since we all get to stay at home right now (well, those of us in New York state), I've got some time on my hands. I'm not going to write about COVID-19. Not really. I'm sure we all see and hear enough about it on the news and social media to scare us, freak us out, worry us, and/or depress us on a regular basis. I mention it now only so that future readers, months or years from now, have some frame of reference when they stumble upon this post. Yeah. I'm totally going to pretend like people are going to be intensely interested in my ramblings at some point in the future. Humor me.

No, this is going to be a letter to my cable company. It also has a lot of pictures in it. Fair warning, in case you're on a super slow connection, or watching data limits. Gotta save it for the important things like crushing candy and what not. I understand. But if you're working from home and bored as hell, consider this a nice little break you can take while still being on the computer and looking busy.

Dear Spectrum,

Last night around 6:45 pm, as I was watching television, my cable froze up. The picture froze, couldn't change the channels, nothing. It was a little strange. So I rebooted the cable box. Everything loaded up just fine, picture was working again, all the info loaded. There was just one little problem -- there was no sound on any channels. Weird. I've never seen that happen before.

I double-checked to make sure I hadn't accidentally hit the mute button. I turned it on and off several times to make sure. What if it's my television? I switch over to my Amazon Fire TV. It works just fine, no volume issues. Guess it's not my television.

That made it a little stranger, Spectrum. I have all my services through you -- phone, cable, and WiFi. Clearly the WiFi was working. I called my parents at their house to see if they were having a similar issue, as they also have your fine services. Nope. They had no problems. At least I knew my phone wasn't having any issues.

I tried rebooting the cable box a couple more times, as I thought maybe it just glitched the first time. Nope. Everything loads fine but there is still no volume.

So I went to the MySpectrum app on my phone, and went through the trouble shooting steps there. It restarted again, but still no volume. And that is when I began waiting to talk to someone in support.

Please note the time stamps.

I'm a patient person. I don't mind waiting. I honestly wasn't even sure if anyone would be there working. It's not like I had anywhere to be since we are all supposed to be staying inside here in New York.

I can wait. Not a big deal. I live alone, so it's not like I have kids running around and freaking out because they can't watch television.The internet still worked. I wasn't about to look at anything else on my phone in case it meant I would lose my place in line, but not a big deal. I can keep trying to reboot the cable box, and in between I can watch the Yankees' game from last year on the YES network. I don't really need sound for that. I already know we're going to win.

I kept trying to reboot, and I started reading a book. Books are great.

Have you ever considered like hold music or something?

I still wasn't sure if anyone was actually there. 

Was anyone actually there? And where is support even located? Were there still people working here in New York, like is cable considered an essential service? Was I now in a queue waiting for someone in a different state to help me? What if it's somewhere in California? I'm not entirely sure they would be allowed to be at work there, either.

Progress!

Check that out! It had taken a couple of hours, but I was finally next in line. This is so exciting!

By 11 pm, after many reboots with no solution and waiting for over 3 hours, I decided to give up for the night. I closed out of the app after sending that message. Maybe the problem would magically resolve itself over night.

Spectrum, you probably will not be surprised to find out that it did not, in fact, magically fix itself overnight. Kind of a bummer. So I did what IT at work always advises when technology goes awry. I turned everything off. I mean the router, modem, cable, television. I unplugged everything in the world for several minutes, and then I plugged it all back in and waited for it all to reload. I figured that might be a suggested step anyway, so best to try it beforehand.

It still didn't work, Spectrum. Guess it's back to the support queue on the MySpectrum app to wait. So I open the app and this is what I find:

No way!

I mean, it was the middle of the night. And it was 3 hours after I had been told I was the next person in line, but some lovely person named Danyelle had eventually gotten to me. 

And I missed it.

Thanks for trying, Danyelle. I hope you were at least amused by my previous comments.

I went through the steps and waded back into the wait line. Maybe it would be shorter this early on a Sunday morning. I mean, still not like I have anywhere to go.

Let me list all of the things I have tried one more time

And so I re-entered the wait line. And then I made some coffee, as I was pretty sure this was not going to come to a swift resolution.

Holy cow!

Not going to lie, I was pretty stoked to see I was next in line so quickly. And then I remembered how long it had taken for someone to get to me when I was "next in line" the previous night. I decided to reboot again and drink my coffee.

Ah, familiarity. Feels like we're old friends at this point.

I was not sure anyone was actually reading anything I typed at this point.

Like really not convinced.

And then something exciting happened, Spectrum! As I was sitting there, drinking my coffee (yes, I really do drink a lot of coffee), and trying to keep up on the latest news, I had this beautiful sight on my phone screen:

I love you, Chris! I mean, I don't know you, but I'm so happy to see you!

This is why they say patience is a virtue. I think we can both admit that it was a tad ridiculous for it to have taken over 7 hours total at this point, but I did finally connect with someone.

None of you reading this need my address. Sorry, internet peeps.

And then I reiterated my problem, in case he didn't want to read through all my random comments.

It was all going swimmingly. Things progressed really quickly after that, Spectrum.

Chris was great, Spectrum. He was polite and professional. I assume he was doing everything he could on his end to solve my problem. I mean, nothing happened at all on my end of the situation, but I feel confident he tried his best. He didn't even mention all of the weird comments I had made while waiting.

Alas, Dear Spectrum, we finally came to a problem point.

Um...how do I politely say no to that offer?

That's the best I could come up with

Like I said, it's not that I don't trust you, Spectrum. I just really don't want anyone -- particularly someone I don't know at all -- coming into my home right now. I don't even let my parents into my home at this point, and I don't enter theirs. Stay home and stay safe, as much as possible. I'm more than a little surprised that an appointment was even offered. I can't imagine your techs are overly thrilled to be walking into people's homes, not knowing what they might find inside. I hope they at least have some protective gear.

And so I turned down the offered appointment, and asked Chris to make a note that I would call for service at some point in the future. Maybe the problem will resolve itself before then. Who knows?

I totally believe Chris made the note. I'll never know, but I bet he did.

Don't forget to wash your hands, Chris!

And there you have it, Spectrum. All that time, and no resolution to my problem. I believe Chris tried his best, and he did everything he could. I never got the survey he mentioned, but I wanted you to know I appreciate that he tried.

So I guess I just won't have sound with my television for a while. Maybe it will start working again at some point when I reboot. Maybe the 47th time is the lucky one. Who knows?

Mostly, I really hope that you are making sure your techs have protective equipment if you are sending them out into people's homes right now. Especially here in New York State.

And if my sound starts working again, I'll be sure to let you know. 

Thanks,

Tammy

Our Patrons Are Amazing

Hey there, Friends.

I don't know about you, but I could really do with hearing a happy story. Every time you turn on the news it seems to be filled with problems, things spiraling into chaos. It's like giving yourself an extra layer of stress and anxiety.

I'm going to share a happy story that happened at work today. Maybe it will restore your faith in humanity a bit, or at least make you smile. It sure did for me.

So, this afternoon a patron found a phone that someone had left in the men's bathroom. He showed it to one of my coworkers, and she showed it to me. Based on the photo on the lock screen we were able to identify it as belonging to our mailman.

Great! Now what do we do? The poor guy is going to notice his phone is missing at some point. I have no idea how long his route is, or what other stops he may have made. The phone is locked, so we can't get to the contacts and we don't want to violate his privacy. But I also don't want him worrying that it's gone forever, or trying to re-trace his whole day looking for it when we have it and it's safe.

So I look up the phone number for our local post office. I know, I know this is probably one of the worst times to try calling them. They have been getting slammed the last few days with people trying to mail last minute presents and cards. What else is there to do? The library was going to be closing at 5 pm, and so was the post office if the website was accurate. It was around 3 pm when the phone was found.

I tried calling several times. A coworker tried calling. The phone is just ringing and ringing. We can't get any answer, probably because they are so busy helping their customers who are waiting in line.

We had our own patrons to help as well. A lady that I was checking out had overheard that I was trying to call the post office, and she told me it was very unlikely that they were going to answer. She asked which post office it was and said it had looked very busy when she had driven by. We finished her transaction, and she left.

About  30 or 45 minutes later she calls on the phone. She had to go to the post office anyway, so after overhearing our dilemma she changed her plans and went back to our local post office. She told them that we were trying to call to get in touch with our mailman to return his phone.

The person she spoke to at the post office tells her that the mail carriers are based at a different facility. They give her the phone number to call the supervisor there. Our patron took it upon herself to call the supervisor and tell them that our library had our mailman's phone, and that we were holding it for him. I'm sure it couldn't have been a short conversation. They said they would get a message to him. She was calling us back to let us know.

I was amazed! I couldn't believe that she had overheard bits of the story, rearranged her plans, and gone out of her way to help us out. I thanked her profusely for going out of her way to try to help us and someone she didn't even know.

And it worked!!!

About half an hour before closing our mailman came in to claim his phone. He seemed pretty happy to get it back.

Maybe it was the holiday spirit infusing itself into the air. A Christmas miracle of sorts.

I like to think we just have some pretty great people who live in this area. From the man who did the right thing by turning the phone in, to the lady who went out of her way to help the library and a complete stranger, to the post office staff who took a pause in their busy schedule to help one of their own coworkers. It's so nice to see something work out with a good resolution, even if it is something so small in the grand scheme of things.

It certainly gave me a case of the warm fuzzies. It was a great way to end the work day. I hope sharing this story has maybe made your day a little better too.

Like Flypaper for Freaks

Hey, Friends.

It's been a day. It started off with a bit of weirdness, hence the title of this post.

I had plans with my friend, who I always refer to as Gertie to give her some privacy. The plan was to meet at her house, go for a walk, and then go to the movies. Nothing too crazy.

The first hitch in the plan comes about because I can't go my normal way to Gertie's house because there is an Eggnog Crawl / Holiday Festival thing that's causing traffic chaos and closing streets.I have to drive a longer way to get there, but not a big deal.

So I'm sitting in traffic on my way to Gertie's, and I see this woman pull into a little plaza, make a u-turn, and pull out right behind me. Didn't think to much of it, assumed she was lost or something.

I'm driving along, and at the next traffic light I notice she is still behind me. As we are stopped I take a better look and she is waving hello to me. I don't know this woman. I don't recognize her at all, even as a patron who comes to the library. I don't wave back. Maybe she's trying to wave to the person behind her or something.

I keep driving. A while later I'm stopped at another light, and I decide I should really put on some chapstick because my lips feel dry. I look in the rear-view mirror, and the woman behind me is staring right at my car, and she starts clapping after I put the chapstick on. Maybe it's a weird coincidence. Maybe she's just super into whatever she's listening to in her car, or she's on the phone.

We, because she was still behind me for quite a ways and traffic was ridiculous, drive quite a bit before we get to a major intersection. I'm going straight ahead, and the woman pulls into the lane to turn left. Of course, she ends up right next to my car for the longest traffic light.

She starts motioning for me to roll down my window. At this point I'm assuming she is lost and needs directions, or maybe she finally figured out that we don't know each other and she wants to explain her weird behavior.

She definitely wanted to chat, Friends. Allow me to briefly paraphrase our conversation for you.

Woman: Hello!

Me: Hi?

Woman: How are you?

Me: Fine...

Woman: I just wanted to say hi! On the weekends I like to go out and drive around until I see someone interesting, and then I like to follow them.

Friends, I hear a lot of weird shit on a regular basis. I don't know if I just give off a vibe of someone who is willing to listen or what. I work in the public library. There are always some eccentric personalities -- like the lady who wanted to give us apples that "had only been run over a little bit" when she found them in the street, or the gentleman who told me his entire conspiracy theory about the JFK murder, or the astrology lady who desperately wants me to get together with a Virgo man, or the woman who spent an entire book group telling us all how President Obama told her to "look for the bodies hidden in the houses" on a local road. Let's not forget the woman in a parking lot who told me my car was evil and I was a devil child. I'm used to weird. It's a new twist that it is now finding me while I'm driving.

Woman: You're a really good driver.

Me: Thanks?

Woman: What's that song you're listening to? It sounds really nice.

Me: Um, Pull Me Deep by Logan Henderson.

Woman: Oh, I like that. I'm going to have to look it up.

At this point I was really wondering how long this freaking light was going to be. Not gonna lie.

Woman: Well, looks like we're going to get to go! You have a good day. It was so nice to meet you and maybe we'll bump into each other again!

Me: Bye.

And then, finally, the light turned and we parted ways.

So I get to Gertie's house and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell that was all about. So I tell her my little story, and Gertie thinks that the woman was hitting on me.

Excuse me? I mean, it's flattering if that is the case, but I don't swing that way. Why couldn't it be a cute guy chasing me down in traffic to flirt? Love is love is love, and I firmly believe people should embrace it and follow their hearts to whomever makes them happy. I hope this woman finds whatever she is looking for. It just won't be with me. Props to her for coming up with a creative new way to meet people. I think she might just be a bit odd, or maybe very lonely.

When Gertie said we had to stop at a local brewery first to pick up a growler for her husband before we went on with our plans for the day? I was more than ready to have a drink. We got there and the beer he wanted was gone, so we had to try a couple to see what we should get him instead. We are totally going with it being his fault that our plans for the day derailed at that point.

You need to go here if you have a chance. 

We eventually get his growler, and then decided that we should really go get something to eat. The place I suggested wasn't open until later, so we ended up at Melzingah Tap House in Beacon.

I recommend the Downeast Cider Winter Blend. So good!

We finished lunch, and Gertie pointed out that we had never actually gone for our walk. I mentioned that we could walk across the street to look at the waterfall, and wasn't that other brewery she liked also within walking distance? Why yes, yes it was.

I love waterfalls. 

It was cold out, but since we were supposed to have been going for a walk we decided to walk on over to Hudson Valley Brewery and see what the new releases were. We did not plan this terribly well, as Gertie ended up getting 4 four packs of the new releases to take home for her and hubby and we were going to have to carry it all back to the car.

This isn't at the brewery. I just saw it on the walk to get there.

So we walked back to the car. Gertie was bemoaning that we really hadn't walked that far. My thinking might have been a little fuzzy still at that point, but I rationalized it as totally counting as a walk. "It's freaking cold. And we're walking uphill. That makes it count as like four times as far as it really is. Plus, you're carrying all that beer. That's like weight lifting. You're working out your deltoids or trapezoids or something!" (Why yes, I am a bit of a light weight. It's a good thing I wasn't the one driving at that point.)

So then we went back to Gertie's to hang out for a while. I like to think we were amusing to her hubby before he left for work. I got to snuggle with her dogs. I am claiming Maxie as my boyfriend.

He's adorable!

And that was my day, Friends. We never made it to the movies, but it was still a very nice way to spend a Saturday. Time with the bestie is always well spent, even if it ends up in accidental day drinking. It was a long week.

I kind of wonder where the lady in traffic wound up. Does she really spend her time driving around each weekend following people? That's a little strange, and maybe a bit creepy. I would also think that she would encounter some less than pleasant people doing that. Good luck on your travels, lady. Hope you find whatever it is you are seeking.

I Found Them By Accident

Hi Friends.

Been a little while, huh? It probably would have been longer, but my Twitter feed decided to explode today over that fact that it's been 9 years since Big Time Rush came into existence. I felt like sharing my story since I had never really heard of them until after the show was already off the air.

I've shared this before, but I first discovered Heffron Drive on Spotify. I like to check out the recommendations Spotify gives, and somehow I had found them. This was back in 2014.  I loved their music and was immediately a huge fan.

It took quite the little while before I noticed that Spotify kept repeatedly telling me I would also like Big Time Rush. I couldn't figure out why in the world that was recommended or how it was related.

Eventually, I clicked on the link to check them out. That's when I figured out why it kept being recommended. I looked at the picture and was like, "Holy shit, that's Kendall from Heffron Drive! No wonder it kept telling me to check this group out."

And I liked their music. I'm not ashamed to admit I enjoy a good boy band. Windows Down is a jam. Nothing Even Matters, No Idea, and Stuck are some of my favorites. But at that point I still had no clue that there had also been a television show.

I'm slow, Friends. I know.

Back in July of 2015, Heffron Drive was coming to Webster Hall in New York City. I was stoked and was absolutely going to go. I decided to ask my niece if she wanted to go with me since she was up visiting for the summer. (She lives in Texas.) I asked my brother first if it would be okay to take his kid to NYC for a concert. He's the one who told me she would be super excited because she loved Big Time Rush and watched it all of the time.

Even then, at the ripe old age of 12, Lili (my niece) was game for any kind of concert. She had never heard of Heffron Drive, but when I told her it was Kendall from Big Time Rush she was absolutely down for it. She listened to their music non-stop up until the concert and learned all the lyrics by heart. I thought she was going to swoon when I told her we had Meet & Greet tickets.

Some revelations came out in the middle of the night while riding the train back home after the concert. She was freaking giddy, and only then did she tell me that Kendall had always been her favorite. That he was perfect. I told her that I had never actually seen the show, just listened to them on Spotify. She was horrified and decided that she needed to rectify that situation as soon as possible.


And that would be how, about a week later, I first saw Big Time Rush. She had taken it upon herself to start recording all of the episodes at my parents' house.

Did she start us at the first episode so I could figure out what the hell was going on? No.

Did she even bother to start at the beginning of an episode? No.

She was already cued up and mid episode when I got to my parents' house, watching the episodes with her little brother. It's one of the few shows that they will both agree to watch to this very day.
(The kidlets stay with my parents when they come to visit. They wouldn't even be awake when I have to leave in the morning, so they only stay with me on the weekends if I don't have to work.)

The episode? Big Time Fever. For those familiar with the show, you can imagine the interesting conversation that this particular episode brought about. If you have never seen it, you really should. Go watch it right now, or the rest of this is not going to make any damn sense to you whatsoever.

She started me at the point where they were already in the recording studio. I immediately asked, "Why is that dude orange?"

Lili: That's James. He's not orange, he's mangerine. And it's from his tanning spray. And that's Gustavo, their manager.  He seems like a jerk but he really likes them.

I got more information as the episode went on and I kept asking questions.

Lili: That's Carlos. He's crazy and always wears a helmet. Normally he's not like this. That's Logan. He's Kendall best friend and super smart.

Me: I thought you said they were all best friends?

Lili: They are. But, Logan's like his best best friend.

Me: Sure.

*a bit further into the episode*

Me: Lil, what channel did you say this normally comes on?

Lili: Nickelodeon. Why?

Me: I'm pretty sure that dude is high.

Lili: Logan?! Oh, no! He just used the magic bongos that Guitar Dude gave him.

Sure. Magic bongos. We'll go with that.

Me: So what's wrong with Kendall then?

And I almost got my head bitten off for daring to ask such a question.

Lili: Nothing! He's perfect. *sigh*  He's the leader of the group, and he's going to fix everything. Normally Logan is his second in command and would help him.

And he did, and everyone was back to normal by the end of the episode.

So then we had a little discussion before I let her roll right into the next episode.

Me: So who are your favorite characters?

Lili: Kendall, duh. And no one else is allowed to like him.

Damn, girl!

Austin (my nephew): I like Carlos and James! They're funny and crazy! 

That devolved into an argument about the proper way to do jazz hands like James does in front of his face, as Lili declared Austin was doing it wrong when he attempted to do it.

Me: Then I guess Logan will be my favorite.

Austin: You could like James or Carlos too, Aunt Tammy. I would share them with you.

Lili: Yeah. I'm not sharing. Kendall is mine.

Me: Thank you, Austin. I'm cool with Logan. Dude is hilarious - reminded me of my friends in college who also enjoyed the bongos. 

Lili: Do you think he's cute though?

Austin: Ewww

Me: He's definitely cute, Lil. No worries about that.

And then, because I am incapable of leaving things in a peaceful state...

Me: Logan is the best!

Austin: Yeah! I like Logan, too. And James and Carlos.

Lili: What?! How can you say that? You love Heffron Drive! You just got to meet Kendall!

Me: All true, but you just assigned me Logan as my favorite, so I'm all in now. Besides, I think you might actually hurt me if I said I liked Kendall at all beyond his music.

Lili: Well...I wouldn't hurt you too bad. *smirk*

And then I got to listen to her read me fun facts about Kendall for the rest of the summer. And I mean, I would get to my parents' to visit after work and be greeted with things like, "Did you know sunflowers are Kendall's favorite flower?" Not hello, or how was work. She would tell me random facts she had found that day about Kendall as soon as I walked in the door.

And every summer when the kidlets come up to visit for a month, we spend quality time bonding and rewatching old episodes of Big Time Rush. The only real problem to come out of it so far was a brief period when Austin got a little too into the concept of a "pre-truth".

I got to see Heffron Drive in concert again since that summer. Sadly, Lili was back in Texas already by that time, but they signed autographs for her and they are proudly hanging on her bedroom wall. I have not gotten to see Logan Henderson in concert yet, but I hope I will get to do so one day. I feel like it's my duty as the sole member of Team Logan in this family. Plus, I'm pretty sure Lili would freak the hell out if I managed to meet him, which would be fun. It's good to have goals.

So, I was a little late to the party on the whole Big Time Rush thing, Friends. I hope I can be forgiven for having overlooked their awesomeness for so long. They inadvertently helped create this cool bond between me and my niece and nephew, and for that I will always be grateful.

Don't Be Creepy

Hey, Friends.

So, this is gonna take a bit of time. Pour yourself a glass of wine, grab a beer -- maybe get yourself a cup of coffee. Pick the beverage of your choice and snuggle in.

I wasn't sure I was going to write about this, and I'm still not entirely sure I'm going to post it or share it for people to read. Clearly I need to get it out of my system since I'm still thinking about it. There's a situation going on that's kind of creeping me out, and I'm trying to sort out whether I'm justified in being a little freaked or if I'm just overreacting. It also has to do with work, so I'm hoping this doesn't cause me any problems there if I do decide to share it.

There's a patron who comes to the library. We shall refer to him here as Truck Man. He's come to the library on and off for quite a while, but it's only recently that his behavior has gotten a little strange.

It started a month or so ago. Truck Man was sitting in his truck in the parking lot at work, back in the area where the staff usually parks, for an extended period of time. I was leaving -- I don't remember now if it was the end of the day or lunch break -- and he made a point of saying hello and telling me he was just on the phone, trying to take care of something. I didn't think anything of it. People chill in the parking lot all of the time. We have wifi, and there's an Optimum hot spot close by, so it really isn't odd to find people lingering in the parking lot at all hours of the day.

Soon other people started to notice that he was spending a lot of time hanging out in the parking lot. We all kind of assumed he was just using the wifi or something, but it was kind of weird that he'd rather sit outside in his truck than be in the library in the air conditioning when we were open.

He did still come in to the library to check out and return dvds. He just really seemed to enjoy hanging out in our parking lot -- it might be in the afternoon, in the evening. He was there a lot is my point.

Not too long ago a coworker came to me and told me she felt uncomfortable going to her car. She had been leaving for her dinner break, and Truck Man had been parked right next to her car. He didn't say anything to her, but she said he definitely wasn't on his phone. He was just watching everything that was going on. I told her to park next to the library from now on, and I'd report it.

Technically, he isn't doing anything wrong. It's a public library. There's wifi out there. He isn't harassing people or even saying anything to people. It's just a little disconcerting that he sits out there for hours, watching people come and go. Or whatever it is he is doing.

Last week, as I learned after the fact, Truck Guy was there in the afternoon. A male coworker went out and watched him during his lunch break. Truck Guy wasn't on the phone making calls, or using the wifi. He just sits there, watching everyone coming and going. Still, not really doing anything wrong, but it's a bit odd. I like people watching, but I don't choose to sit in parking lots for hours on end, several days a week, doing it.

Now we get to last night.

Truck Guy had been in, about 15 minutes or so before closing. He checked out a bunch of dvds. I hadn't seen his truck lingering in the parking lot, so I assumed he had just popped in and then had gone about his business elsewhere since we were closing.

My coworkers and I closed the library as we normally do on Thursday night. It was a little after 9 pm, and it's dark out at 9 pm in mid August. I had noticed a car parked in the driveway in front of the building, where there is no parking, so I told my coworkers I was going to drive out that exit and see if there was a problem. I'm the "person in charge" so I wanted to make sure it wasn't someone with car trouble or the like. There's nothing else out near the library that would be open at that hour, and I didn't want to strand someone if they needed a phone to call for a ride or a tow truck.

I pull around to the front, and there is Truck Guy in his truck, parked in a spot near the front of the building. As I pull past him he turns on his truck. Whatever. I drive past the car in front of the building. It's someone who was in the library most of the night, and she is clearly still trying to use the wifi. Wonderful, excellent. I'm happy there isn't a problem and just want to go home.

As I'm pulling out of the driveway, I see that Truck Guy is also leaving, although leaving a bit of distance between our vehicles. There are no street lights on the main road by the library. We are out in East Bumblefuck.  It's really easy to notice other vehicles because their headlights are the only source of light on the street.

I notice that Truck Guy pulls out onto the road the same way I'm going. He only had 2 choices of directions, so not really surprising we are headed the same way.

Now, this is where I totally forgive you if you think I am overly paranoid, Friends. I've been having that debate internally for the last 24 hours or so. I may very well be. Maybe I've watched too many crime dramas on television and it's clouding my judgement.

So I'm driving and Truck Guy is behind me. But he's not right behind me like normal traffic, or being an ass and riding my bumper like people tend to do in these parts.  He's hanging several car lengths back, and all I can think is, "This is how all the cops on tv follow suspects when they are trying to blend in".

We get to the next intersection, and again he turns the same way I do. I'm still thinking maybe I'm just paranoid. He stays a ways back, not even doing the speed limit.

Red light at the next intersection. Now, I normally am very anti-using-a-phone-while-driving, but I decide that I need to put on Spotify and listen to something to calm myself down. I've half convinced myself at this point that I'm completely overreacting to something that is just a dumb coincidence. I don't even bother to see what song is going to play, I just want some music to make it seem like everything is perfectly fine and a normal Thursday night. The music starts and this is good, I love this song. Pull Me Deep, Logan, and distract me from being a paranoid freak.

He turns the same way the next intersection when the light turns green. And follows through the next two, still at a distance.

It was at this point I decided there was no way in hell I was going straight home. Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe he's really being a creepy stalker. He for sure does NOT need to know where I live. Not even the street. So I turn on to a busy side street, full of people and restaurants, and find a spot to park on the side of the road.  If he turns down this street, then I'm driving straight to the police station and we'll see if he follows me there.

Thankfully, blessedly, he didn't turn. I didn't realize exactly how tense I had been until that moment. I literally just sat there in my car while the rest of the song played, and then I headed home.

And it kept bugging me all night.

Was I just being overly paranoid?
Was he following me?
What if it was totally innocent and he was just headed home as well, and we just happen to live in the same part of town?
Was I just projecting all sorts of bad intent onto this poor guy?
What if he is a legit creepy stalker?

I didn't want to make a huge to-do out of what could be nothing, but I decided that I needed to tell my coworkers this morning about what had gone down last night. They could decide for themselves if I was being concerned over nothing, but I would feel horrible if he did turn out to be a creep and I hadn't said anything to them to warn them. Better safe than sorry.

We had some storm damage a couple weeks ago, and a few trees had fallen and been broken out by the staff parking lot. Four people from the staff were out there working on removing the tree and debris most of the day today.

Truck Guy showed up at some point. One of the gentlemen out working on the tree removal project just happened to be the same person who had watched Truck Guy on his lunch break last week. He noticed Truck Guy sitting out there for quite while this afternoon, and had heard my story about closing and the drive home last night.

He goes over to Truck Guy and decides to have a chat with him, find out what he's up to. Truck Guy claims he just likes to sit there and watch movies, and he isn't doing anything wrong. My coworker agrees, tells him he can see how it's a nice, quiet spot to watch movies and that he isn't doing anything wrong.

Then he breaks it down for him that he has to understand that it is a little unsettling from the staff's perspective to have him just hanging out in the parking lot for hours on end, especially after closing when it is dark out.

Now, I trust this coworker completely, and I know he would never identify me or anyone to Truck Guy, or give out any personal information. He would never mention that I had told him my paranoia about having potentially been followed last night.

Truck Guy tells my coworker that "I wasn't following her" while pointing directly to my car in the parking lot. And then, to make it very clear to my coworker that he wasn't following me, Truck Guy tells him exactly which street I turned onto on the way home, and that he had taken a different street.

That didn't make me feel any better.

Who the hell remembers what street the car in front of them turned on to like 15 hours earlier if they aren't following them? I can't even tell you the color of the car in front of me on the drive home tonight, much less which street they turned on when we parted ways.

My coworker told him again that it was fine, and no one was saying he followed anyone. He stressed again that he needs to look at it from the staff's point of view. He can sit and watch movies in the parking lot, but maybe not for such an extended period of time. That he should consider not sitting in the parking lot, particularly when the library was closing. Leave a few minutes before that. Truck Guy said he liked to watch the movies later in the evening because it was darker and he could see them better. At which point my coworker once again told him that was fine, but he should understand that if he continues to make the staff uncomfortable then the next step will be calling the police.

I was kind of on edge for the rest of the afternoon.

The coworker who had the chat with the guy left for the day. I'm assuming he told me about their conversation so that I would know that the matter had been addressed with Truck Guy, and that the message had been received.

I was a little worried because now we all know Truck Guy is out there hanging in the parking lot, and what if he's pissed off at me?

So we close today at 5 pm, and thankfully it's still light out. No sign of Truck Guy hanging out in the back staff area of the parking lot. We were all looking for him.

I notice there a still a few cars parked in the lot, and since I'm "in charge" I should probably cruise by to make sure everything looks cool. One of my coworkers waited, and he followed behind me because -- Ta Da! -- there sits Truck Guy, in the front of the parking lot. Hanging out in his vehicle after we are closed.

I just left, with my coworker right behind me.

Clearly the message to stop lurking in the library parking lot after closing was not received.

I don't know what to think about all of this.

Am I being overly paranoid about the whole situation?

If Truck Guy was really just there to watch movies, then shouldn't it have been a hint to leave before closing today? Is it worth staying to watch movies knowing that we might call the cops on you? Did he assume it was okay today because it wasn't dark at closing?

Is he just pushing it to see when he crosses the line and we do call the police?

As another coworker mentioned this afternoon, what is he watching movies on? Mostly we just see him sitting in the parking lot, watching the comings and goings of the people in the parking lot. He's not looking at a phone or any other device. He's checking out dvds from the library. Is he bringing a portable dvd player to watch them on?

Why did he point to my car, and specifically say he wasn't following me, when my coworker had never mentioned anything beyond making the staff uneasy by being in the parking lot for hours?

I don't know. A lot of things about it aren't adding up to me. I don't know if I'm worrying about nothing, or if this guy is a creep who sucks at being stealthy and got busted. But why stay and continue the creeptastic behavior again this evening? Is he just stupid, or angry and trying to prove a point, or just really wants to sit in his truck and watch movies?

Tell me what you think. I need your feedback!

I thought writing this all out would help me sort through it and realize I was being way too dramatic about it all, that he's just a weird dude and it's all a big misunderstanding. It hasn't. I still feel just as unsettled about it as I did before.

Am I being ridiculous, crazy, paranoid about this whole thing?

A Birthday Surprise

My niece, Lili, is 15 years old. Her little brother, Austin, has a birthday coming up. The kids have been up here in New York now visiting their Grandparents and I for the summer. Austin has no idea that my brother is taking them all to a Yankees game in August as a surprise for his birthday before they all head back down to Texas.

Lili is in on the surprise, and she wanted to try to make it extra special. Austin's favorite player is Aaron Judge. We watch all of the Yankees games on tv, and as soon as Lili saw that Judge had been injured she knew that probably meant that Austin wouldn't get to see his favorite player in action when they go to the game. Going to the game will still be a great birthday surprise, and Austin will still be thrilled, but it will be a little less magical without getting to see his favorite player in action.

So Lili took it upon herself to email the Yankees to see if there was any way that Austin could get to meet Aaron Judge, even if he is injured and cannot play. She got an email back (probably a generic response) to call customer service. She called, and the very nice woman at customer service explained that meeting players had to be arranged through their management, but they did not have that information to give out.

Lili wasn't ready to give up just yet. I suggested that she post a picture of Austin in his Little League uniform on Instagram, and put her email in the caption. She didn't want to do that because:

1) Austin would see it and it would ruin the surprise of going to the Yankees game
2) She doesn't want him to find out that she tried to get him to meet Aaron Judge if it doesn't work out.

Not knowing what else to do, I told her I would try posting her letter here and posting a link to it on Twitter. Maybe Aaron Judge or someone at the Yankees would see it that way. Worth a shot, right? Maybe the internet can work some birthday magic of it's own for Austin.

Below is the email that Lili sent to the Yankees. I'm just copying and pasting it here.


Hi my name is Lili, I’m 15 I’m from Corpus Christi, Texas. My little brother Austin is a big Yankees fan, but an even bigger Aaron Judge fan. Two years ago my little brother went to his first Yankees game, which also happened to be  Aaron Judge's first game, and he’s been his biggest fan ever since. He was so excited that after the game he passed out before he even got his food.

His little leauge baseball team back in corpus is called “Laguna Little League Yankees” and he begged to get 99. Like I said he REALLY likes Aaron Judge.

We are here visiting family in New York this summer and as a surprise birthday present my dad is  going to take us to the Yankees game on August 9th. Austin will be 11 on August 11th. He got seats in the Judges chamber and tickets to watch batting practice before the game. This a total surprise and Austin has no idea it”s happening.

As you can probably guess Austin was very concerned when Judge got injured and put on the DL. Austin is concerned that his favorite player won’t be playing for a few weeks, I’m upset because he won’t get to see his favorite player get to play at his surprise birthday game. Would it be possible for Austin to meet Aaron Judge at the game on Thursday August 9th? I didn’t tell anyone, I was just hoping to make his birthday surprise a little bit more amazing. 

Thank you for your consideration, I know Yankees are great with they’re fans.

Sincerely, Liliana Myers