Flying Trampolines and Fist Fights

You know how when you're a kid, you hear everyone tell you that you should always know what you're going to do in a situation, so when something happens, you'll be prepared with an out, or the right action to take. Well, I have news for you, I never expected this to happen.

It was early in the morning, and it had been raining all night, we were under a severe weather warning, and I was lying in bed listening to the rain. Every now and again there would be a clap of thunder, and every once in a while the rain would really pound the roof top. Just like clock work, BOOM! thunder? Nope! Think again! Austin ran upstairs and said he just watched our trampoline lift up off the ground, fly 50 feet in the air and fly right over the top of our neighbors house. The boom, was not thunder, it was our trampoline responding to gravity. Immediately I jumped out of bed--wearing my favorite polka-dot pajamas--of course. We put all the kids, the dog, and the cat downstairs, just in case, and we hopped in the car to search for the blasted thing. Boy were we in for a surprise when we found a young girl standing beside, not a car, but a smashed SUV. Oh joy! Next to the SUV, was none other than our infamous flying trampoline. The girl did not look happy, and she came up to our window, dripping rain down her face, and said that someone's *&^$(@ trampoline smashed her car. Oh dear, how awkward! I gently told her that it was our trampoline, and she immediately said that we ruined her car! Ah! I said, "No, this was an accident, the wind did this." She was not at all appeased, in fact I think it ticked her off even more. She wrote down our information, and we told her we'd be right back to get things squared away. There was another storm system on its way, so we wanted to get things done asap. It was still pouring rain, but we went back and loaded bits and pieces of busted trampoline into the back of the Tahoe. Austin filed a claim with out insurance, and we went to the dump to get the trampoline taken care of. While we were away, the young girl's mother returned from what I'm assuming is a job as Satan's little helper. She was at our door, horns and pitchfork at the ready. She was irate that we weren't still at her house sweeping up glass. We had just walked in the stupid door! Pardon my french, but if anyone is the big "B" word, she's it. So, she wants us to go rent her daughter a car, immediately. We kindly told her that we had already contacted our insurance, and they were working on it, she still wanted it taken care of, NOW! Well, after a bit of an argument, I invited her to GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! There was no working with this woman. So, we were told that it was all our fault, we never should have had a trampoline in the first place, and that she was going to sue us. Oh dear! This is where I lost it, I started bawling, I called my daddy, cause that's what daddies are for, and blurted out the whole sob story. I love my dad! He called her up, from 2000 mile away, and blasted her. Hee! Hee! Hee! I can laugh now. Anyway, to bring this long drawn out drama to an end, our insurance concluded that no one was at fault, it was a complete act of nature, and they would take care of it 100%--no deductible. Whew! We are never buying another trampoline--Never! You were right Mr. Scott Fitzgerald, trampolines are nothing but trouble waiting to happen.

Well, a few days later, I was going to pick up Taylon from baseball practice, when I noticed 2 big and burly guys jump out of a minivan and whack this guy in the back, and then punch him in the face. The poor guy went down for the count! Then, they continued to punch and kick him, he tried to get up, and they slammed him back on the ground and kicked him until he could barely move. He was bleeding all over, and I was honking my horn, hoping they'd realize someone saw them and they'd leave, no way! They just kept at it, so I called 911. After what seemed like forever, they left the poor guy lying on the sidewalk and drove away. I jumped out of the car and ran over to help him. His hand was hamburger, and his head was cut open and I know his nose was broken. This poor guy couldn't even stand up. I got some towels from a house nearby and some ice and held them over his head wound and his nose while he held a towel over his hand until the ambulance arrived. I never expected to see a guy get pummeled when I left the house, and I can't believe that people would act like that! So, as far as making up your mind as to what you're going to do beforehand, I've decided that I am just going to try to be the best person I can be, and try to not cry about everything. Hopefully I can keep a level head the next time something wild and wacky happens.