Small Town Life – Joan Hall

Happy first day of May, Readers. I love springtime and warmer weather. For some reason, I recently remembered a little song about the month of May that I learned years ago while taking piano lessons. Hadn’t thought of it in years, and I have no idea who wrote it.

Anyhow, it seems appropriate to reminisce because this month’s Mystery Monday posts are personal stories that happened to either me or members of my family. This first one isn’t exactly a mystery, but a mystery solve. A few weeks ago, while chatting with Mae Clair, I said, “Remind me to tell you about the time I thought I saw a UFO.” She was interested to hear and suggested I make it and some others part of Mystery Monday. So, here goes.

In the 1970s, the small town in which I live was truly a small town with a population of less than 2,000 people. Everything was in our “downtown” area—one bank, three home-owned grocery stores, a hardware store, and two or three gas stations. No convenience stores back then, and everything closed by 6:00 p.m. We had a four-way stop at the main intersection—no traffic lights for us—and right-angle parking along the main street, which happens to be a major U. S. Highway.

During my senior year of high school, I was in a work co-op program. I attended school in the morning and went to a part-time office job in the afternoon. One November day, I left my job around 5:30 and drove to the post office to mail some letters. I parked along Main Street, got out of the car, then walked to the mailbox drop. There weren’t drive-by mail drops in those days, no drive-through pharmacies, or curbside delivery of groceries. Folks went inside buildings to take care of business unless they used the drive-in window of the local Dairy Queen. (I’m digressing a bit here to reminisce. Life was simpler and more laid-back then. Folks didn’t rush like they do today.)

But, back to the story at hand. When I got out of the car, I looked toward the north and saw a bright light in the sky that appeared to hover near the horizon. The sun had already set, and twilight had begun to settle in, but it was still too early for any stars to appear. After dropping off the mail, I got back into the car, then started home.

We lived northeast of town, and the bright light remained visible as I drove. It was low in the sky and still appeared to hover in one place. As I got closer to home, I could make out a shape. It was an aircraft of some sort, but I’d never seen anything like it.

United States Air Force C-130 Transport Plane (Image courtesy of Pixabay)

I have ancestors from Missouri, the “Show Me” state. Some of those characteristics passed on to me. If there is something out of the ordinary, for me, seeing is believing. I had made the statement many times that I wouldn’t believe in UFOs unless I saw one. That November evening, I almost became a believer. What else could be hovering so low in the sky unless it was something from beyond Earth? The Starship Enterprise quickly came to mind.

I’m not sure how I managed to stay on the road because my eyes were fixed on this unidentified flying object. Finally, near a neighbor’s open field, I was able to determine what mesmerized me. It was an airplane. I’m not sure what type, maybe a C-130 military transport, traveling at a slow speed with its flood light turned on. The direction in which it traveled, coupled with the direction I drove made it appear to remain in one place. Mystery solved.

I haven’t seen any more UFOs but who knows when one might appear? Seeing is believing.

I hope you enjoyed this personal tale of a solved mystery. Next week, I’ll write about a mysterious sound and an apparently haunted house.