Haunted Tales – Spiel the Beans
Welcome to Spiel the Beans where my friend Katy and I dish a little on prompts we thought would be fun each month. With the Halloween spirit in the air, of course we thought a Haunted Tale was perfect. Of course maybe you don’t believe in ghosts and would rather just share the scariest thing you have ever done. We are down with that!
I had a grandfather, Papa Dutch (yes my dog is named after my grandpa) and he was an amazing storyteller. He loved telling us bedtime stories about dude he called raw hide and bloody bones. There were lots of headless people dragging chains and bones buried behind walls and I seriously do not know how in the world I slept at night.
I, however, have zero imagination when it comes to these things! Me, no, I like experiencing my scary instead. So here is a little story from my younger self.
Back in 1998 one of my childhood friends was living in NYC living her dream and she invited me to come for a visit. I was a single mom trying to make ends meet and had only been on a plane one other time but I could not pass up the chance to visit NYC with a free place to stay. So off I went!
I arrived in Atlanta, Georgia in plenty of time to make my connecting flight. The basketball playoffs were on TV and I grabbed a beer and some dinner at the bar at TGI Fridays. After boarding the flight and sitting for a bit that dreaded ding came over the intercom to let us know due to an issue with the plane our flight would be delayed. Yikes! I was not prepared for any kind of snafu and was already nervous enough about arriving and taking my first cab into the city.
What’s a girl to do? Back to the bar for another beer and some basketball. I met a guy who was also delayed and he was super nice. Not in the flirty, trying to pick me up kind of way just willing to have some conversation. Once our plane was finally ready and we boarded he switched seats with the person next to me so we could continue hanging out.
As we approached JFK airport, he told me his cousin was picking him up and they would be happy to give me a ride into Manhattan. You’ve all watched movies like Taken right? Well, in 1998 I was evidently oblivious to any of the horrible things that go on in the world and all I could think about was the $40 I would be saving so I said yes.
I’ll never forget closing the door to the black car with the black tinted windows and thinking what in the world am I doing?!! Thankfully this story has a happy ending! He was a nice guy and he delivered me safely to my friends apartment building. I have thought so many times about how wrong this could have gone. How in the world could I have been so naive, so stupid?!!
I have probably lived a fairly sheltered life if this is really the scariest thing I’ve ever done right? So now it’s your turn! Be sure to mark your calendar for November 15th as we come back to share something we are thankful for or maybe something we should be thankful for but have taken for granted.
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Your Taken reference made me lol. Sometimes a little hind site makes us realize how stupid we are and how faithful God was to take care of us.
Wow! What a blessing it all turned out alright in the end!
16 years old, my best friend and I got into a small plane (3 seats) with her mother's boyfriend….yes…boyfriend….he flew us over a lake near San Antonio. I knew the minute I got into that plane…I would be in BIG trouble if my mother ever found out about it. This was odd because I was not really a rule breaker at that age. Years and I mean years later, like when I was 35…I told my mother…(I think we were all having a glass of wine and confessing things we did when we were young) Bad, Bad, Bad idea!!!! She is STILL MAD and brought it up last month to my husband.
That would have scared me! My husband is the type who likes to believe the best in people, while I assume the worst until people have earned my trust (we balance each other out, I guess).
In a retail store where I used to work, I would straighten items after we closed, and things would sometimes be messed up after I had straightened them. I would also hear what sounded like footsteps and faint laughter. Also, after our older dog died, Husband and I heard her nails clacking on the floor in the hallway.
I am not much of a risk taker Robin so I always think about this moment and can't believe I did it. I totally would creep out about the dog nails…that would have been freaky!
I love doing that to my mom!! Of course I didn't hide much..most of the time I'll be talking about something I'm sure she knew I did and she acts like it's the first time she's heard it. lol
So true Beth. I think that's why this always sticks out to me.