G'day, everyone. Hi, Sharons. I've not seen a TV show about ugly animals. I've seen some ugly animals, including a few two-legged ones, we've had celebrity pets behaving badly (including an Aussie classic from the days of live TV - Graham Kennedy's "Rover", supposed to be advertising dog food but instead resolving an over-full bladder, on live national television).
We had a busy afternoon. We had to drive 'out' and the rain was continuing. Do you know, it's been so long since I drove in rain, I had trouble working out how to use the rear wiper on the car? Talk about embarrassing!
Tonight we had a weird incident. It was dark, still a bit wet, late and a car pulled into our driveway. Then backed out, reversed up to our mailbox with lights dimmed and motor still running. I couldn't see out my window as a large tree was blocking the view. I went to the front door but some caution advised me to leave the light off. I looked out, all was dark. I heard some muffled argument, a young male voice saying, "Alright, ALRIGHT!" and then what looked like an adolescent male got out of the car, hurried to our letterbox and shoved something in, even as the car was beginning to glide away. The young man rushed back and jumped into the moving car as it took off up the road. I tried to get the number, but it was too quick.
I went back inside, told husband about it and we both speculated - another letterbox bomb? Something nastier? I got my boots on, grabbed a torch and some gauntlets to go look. husband got his boots on too, and together we picked our way to the fence, cautiously.
Just as we got to the letterbox I saw the car coming again. I switched off the torch so we wouldn't be seen and recognised the same car as it sped back past our house. They wouldn't have seen us near the tree.
Then we turned on the torch and checked the letterbox again - junk mail!
Instead of something nasty delivered by local hooligans, it was some kid who hadn't completed his after-school junk mail route and his parents were driving him round to finish the job, nagging him all the way.
We had to laugh - we've been a target of local thugs for so long that we're getting paranoid. Letterbox bombs can be nasty, but I must admit we haven't had any of those for a while. It's more of a winter thing - fireworks can be bought in Canberra (three hours' drive away) on the June long weekend. Nowhere else, no other time. So it's around then that we get the home-made pipe bombs shoved through the letterboxes. We built our letterbox with a freely movable flap at the back. Any explosion can be easily vented.
That's life in difficult child town - never dull!
Have an exciting Tuesday, everyone.
Marg
