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Animal Bluffs
Week eleven came and this time the subject was somewhat different. It was about hoaxes.
"Nighttime in Anaheim, California is the muffled sound of television sets booming in every house on the block, a dry west wind rustling in the tops of the eucalyptus trees and the distant hum of the traffic which never ceases rushing along in the antlike frenzy on the busy Riverside Frenzy that forms the northern edge of this sprawling Los Angeles suburb." Said Ken. "But nighttime in Anaheim for one woman in a quiet residential neighborhood not long ago meant taking the dog out for a quick turn in the backyard and glancing up suddenly to see a bright, eerie light in the sky. A flying saucer! She'd read about them and heard about them. There could be no doubt: an alien space ship was hovering over Anaheim. But this one was so big. And the strange, glowing light seemed to be surrounded by smaller lights. It must be a mother ship letting off all the other ships! Leaving the bewildered dog to follow, she rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the telephone. 'What's the matter, mom?' one of the kids said, but she waved the question away impatiently and dialed with a trembling forefinger. It took four rings to get an answer, they were always so slow. But finally there was a voice on the other end. 'Operator?' the woman panted. 'Operator, this is an emergency! Get me the… the… oh, how do I know? Get me the fire department!' It was an emergency all right. At least a seventeen year old neighbor thought so when the 'huge flying saucer' was traced back to his modest hot air balloon operation and the flimsy plastic dry cleaning bag he had launched with cradle power from his own yard. 'I was trying to, well, scare people, and to see how long I could keep a balloon up,' sheepishly admitted the youngster. He spoke for a number of other California teenagers from San Diego to Los Angeles who for months had been enjoying the fad of scaring the daylights out of anyone who chanced to glance up at the night sky. Some of the kids used hot air balloons pasted together out of tissue paper, but this particular boy, successful launcher of a hundred balloons, was an expert. He usually used plastic bags such as clothes are draped in when they come from the cleaner, taping them shut at the top and attaching the bottom to a light wooden frame. Several candles stuck onto the frame provided plenty of heat to warm the air inside the bag to the point that it was lighter than the outside air. A wad of flaming paper was favored by some as a 'takeoff assist,' but even with just the candles the balloons would begin their flight within seconds, sometimes climbing a thousand feet and higher, and always casting a strange, eerie light. A simple explanation? Sure. Simpler than jumping to the conclusion that one had seen a UFO? Of course. But although hot-air balloons have been around for hundreds of years, they're not particularly common these days; and many people fell for the more complicated notion that they'd seen a saucer. Thus, the hoaxers of this world enjoyed yet another shout of merry laughter. They have been laughing for centuries, lavishly expending time, money and occasionally genius, plaguing science since science began. In fact, in the search for facts as to be the controversial existence of monsters…"
Down in the living room, Rick read a copy of "The Book of Three" translated into brail. Heidi waited by the door while Rick read.
"Sit down, Heidi." Said Rick. "It's best to be patient."
"Have you ever had to go through this with someone?"
"Oh, most of the time but I've learned to live with it."