Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Hand-fed Kitty! 12-2-09

Maddie to Spencer:

"Look at me!"

"If you eat all your dinner, you can have dessert!"

"Good boy!"

Apple Picking Time 12-2-09

My friend, Jan & her husband HA, invited us to pick apples at their place. As you can tell by the look on her face! she loved it! Lots more yummy apples! Thanks Jan & Ha!

Paper Chase 3AM 12-1-09

On our newspaper delivery route, we make several stops along O’Connor Way – a narrow country road in rural San Luis Obispo. We usually make those stops around 3:00 a.m., and while the road is almost always deserted, we occasionally see some rather unsavory characters and vehicles at roadside. We’ve been told that O’Connor Way is a popular spot for drug deals because it’s so remote, so we’re always a little nervous making that drive – even more so this morning, as the light of the full moon was diffused by thick fog. Got the picture?

Our drive was uneventful until Michael pulled into a driveway and dropped off a newspaper. Backing out onto the roadway, we noticed a car coming toward us and decided to let it pass. But instead of passing, the driver slowed down and pulled up immediately behind us, obviously intending to block us in. A wave of panic shot through us, and because the driveway was wide, Michael managed to crank the steering wheel and pull out behind the mystery car.

As we sped away (as fast as the fog would allow, anyway) we noticed that the other car had quickly spun around and was now pursuing us. He was rapidly gaining on us, flashing his high beams repeatedly, and we quickly concluded that he thought we were his drug connection and was angry that we were ditching the deal!

Fearing for our safety, we gave up on any notion of continuing with our newspaper deliveries, and focused instead on escaping the lunatic who was chasing us down. When we turned right onto Foothill, so did he. When we turned right again on Los Osos Valley Road, so did he, racing up on us and making it clear he wanted us to pull over. I suggested we call the Sheriff’s Office, but Michael wanted to make it clear to the guy that we were just delivering newspapers (instead of heroin) and that he was chasing the wrong people. So we pulled over at one of our scheduled stops and Michael waved the newspaper to show our intentions to the driver behind us. This seemed only to make the fellow more aggressive, as he followed us even more closely when we pulled back onto the road.

Enough was enough! I whipped out my cell phone and dialed the Sheriff’s Office while Michael stayed just ahead of our pursuer. When I told the dispatcher about our ordeal – how we had been aggressively followed starting on O’Connor Way and were unable to shake the attacker as we sped down Los Osos Valley Road – she got very excited. Not because of the chase…but because she was on the other line TALKING TO THE DRIVER BEHIND US!

As it turns out, our “attacker” was actually a law enforcement officer driving an unmarked County vehicle. He and his fellow officers were on high alert because an inmate from the nearby prison had escaped and was thought to be near O’Connor Way. The dispatcher advised us to pull over, which we did, and soon we were enjoying a good, long laugh with the officer over the whole thing. He was very sympathetic, and understood exactly why we had reacted the way we did. He just happened to be speaking with the Sheriff’s Office when I called, and the dispatcher quickly put the story together.

Will we pull over for the next crazed driver that chases us down? I hope we never find out!