My Weird But Totally True Story

Nearly everyone has a funny, embarrassing, wacked out jaw-dropping or amazing story to share with the masses. On one of my writing forums, someone put forth an invitation to tell a true life tale starting with the great writing prompt...So, there I was...

Well, here is my wicked bizarre, honest-to-goodness, true life, so-there-I was tale:

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So, there I was coming back to Mass from vacation in Hershey, Pennsylvania with my family. I was twelve, my sister, five.

My dad stopped to get gas and struck up a conversation with this old man standing outside the convenience store. The guy had a Bible on him, and he and my dad started talking about the Lord. My dad, being the friendly guy that he is, and a Christian, said he’d drive him to the Shoney’s he wanted to go to since we were going exactly in that direction. We'd eaten there on the way down actually so my dad knew right where it was.

He sat in front with my dad, and my mom hopped in back with my sister and me.

My dad had never, ever picked up a stranger, and by her tension, I could tell my mom was furious with my dad's sudden burst of kindness and caution-to-the-wind attitude about the whole thing.

As we’re driving, he and my dad continued to converse about the Lord and the Bible, and my mom eventually relaxed and chimed in too.

Out of the blue, the man said, “My name is in your car."

The three of us in back looked at each other with scrunched faces. We’re all like, “What?"

He repeated, “My name is in your car...See?" He lifted up the bunch maps my dad had in front between the seats, which were covered the whole time, and pulled out a stuffed mouse, wearing a Hershey bar T-shirt. He said, “That's me. Name’s Hershey like this guy, the chocolate king. He was a nice fellow with ambition and heart. Created tons of jobs for people."

My mom and I exchanged wide-eyed glances.

He continued on, talking about God, family and love…and a little bit about chocolate. When we got to the Shoney’s he oddly asked to be dropped off across the street instead of in the parking lot. I assumed he didn't want my dad to have to make a U-turn.

So my dad obliged and let Hershey out where he requested. As soon as he got out of the car, we all started clamoring about the whole Twilight Zone feel of that. We majorly freaked out about the mouse thing because there's no way he could have seen it. Plus, we had just come from Hershey and picked him up at least two hours away from that chocolate heaven. i mean, what are the odds?

I watched him walk towards the restaurant. And he never got there. I gasped.

When my sister shouted with alarm, "Where'd he go?" I knew we'd both seen the same thing.

He had totally just disappeared.

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Hmmm. Entertaining angels unaware? Perhaps. Methinks. We all came to that conclusion. So, now that you've heard one of my jaw-droppers, share your own tale of oddness. Spill the beans on your outlandish, weird, hilarious true life experience. I'm curious. Do tell.

~ Signing off and sending out cyber hugs.