Momma, I'm really close to Arkansas! And, so was a UFO!

If I could have stayed in Hardy, Arkansas, Faye would have shown me how to knit a scarf with the blue and green railroad yarn. Instead, she confirmed that Hardy was not far from Bull Shoals Lake in Missouri.

Suzie’s phone call interrupted my shopping. “Momma, where are you?”

“I’m close to the Missouri border shopping in a little historic town in Arkansas. Dad and I are taking our time coming up Route 63 to Missouri since you are away for the weekend. We’ll be in Fulton Sunday night or Monday morning.” I replied.

“Momma, I’m really close to the Arkansas border!”

Faye assured me the distance between me and Suzie was a short drive. Hastily, Ed and I consulted the map and called Suzie back. We could take Route 160 West and meet her in Theodosia, Missouri in about 2 hours.

There was no missing Suzie when we rolled into Theodosia. She waved wildly from her perch on a brick wall at the town bank. She wore huge clown glasses. Her blond pony tail swung when she rocked from left to right. What a joyful sight! I hadn’t seen Suzie since December – four months, the longest time lapse ever. And, I missed her!

She and her friend Matt had come to the lake house to celebrate Matt’s Dad’s birthday. Now, we would celebrate a reunion with Suzie too.

Our coach fit on Phil and Diane’s property next to the boat storage building. That evening, we enjoyed their hospitality. We feasted on barbeque ribs and pork chops. Suzie introduced us to the family's pet dog Buster. And, the kids gave us a ride on the Gator to see the lake. The water level was high. The recent rains caused flooding of the banks and docks.

Before nightfall, Ed and Matt built a fire. The “parents” settled into chairs on the porch to watch the fire and enjoy the deer which had gathered to graze in the clearing. The “kids” went inside to mix Margaritas for the “parents.” That’s when something weird happened.

“Did you see that?” asked Phil as he grabbed the arms of his chair and leaned forward. We’d all seen the neon blue light emerge from the trees over the lake, move parallel across the sky, then vanish.

We were in an excited chatter when the kids returned from the kitchen with our drinks. I’m not

sure who said what but the conversation went something like this: “It couldn’t have been a plane.” “That wasn’t a flare either.” “Shooting stars don’t do that.” “What the hell was it?” “That was weird.” “It had to be a UFO.”

Suzie and Matt were unconvinced but knew that the four of us were good story tellers but not conspirators. We saw something. Shook-up, we put the Margaritas on hold. “Matt and Suzie, pour a round of shots of that Mexican tequila. We just saw a UFO!”

Now, I will admit that I have never been a believer in UFOs. So I researched on the Internet to see if there could be a logical explanation for what the four of us saw. I didn’t find any answers. Phil called his son several days later to say that other folks in that part of Missouri saw the strange, unexplained light too.

I was glad to see my Suzie. And, it was a pleasure to meet the Mueller Family. But, I’m stunned by our encounter with that weird light in the sky.

April 26, 2008