The scariest thing..... 2-20-22

(random picture from the Internet)

by: Vanessa Holmquist

She was confused. She randomly woke up in this empty apartment. She gets up from ground and looks around room. There was a couch and a tv directly in front of her. She just then realized that there were no windows and just beyond the room. There was only one door. Which she assumed was the exit. Somehow she knew that there was no time to lose she starts to walk towards the front door. With a sudden burst through the door a scary clown walks in to the room. The girl horrified, was frozen in place. "Your not going anywhere" replied the clown. As he turned away from her and threw himself on to the couch. He turns on the TV and starts to laughing maniacally at the contents of the TV. Fearful she stayed huddled against the back wall. 
Asking herself why she was in this predicament. Or how she came to be here. Unsure of how long she has been there. It felt like an eternity. She decided do something about it. She observed him from behind. He was consumed with the programing. She looked around her to see if there was anything she could use to knock out the clown but there was absolutely nothing but the couch and the tv set. Her only option was to run while he was distracted. She prepared herself best she could and would make a run for it. Took her a long time to work the courage to do it. It's not or never she told herself. She got up quietly and got set. Then ran as fast as her legs could go. Not bothering to look back she was almost to the door. When to her horror, the clown stretched his arms while still laying fully on the couch. He grabbed her by the legs. She fell face forward, trying to claw her way to freedom. He pulled her back. She tried with every strength she had to resist yelling and screaming but to no avail he was pulling her in to the couch. Once fully entrapped in the couch. All of sudden she found her self right back where she started. "Nice try" said the clown.. 

Story Slingers Prompt

The Scariest...

 THE SCARIEST THING

By: Daren Flynn

As she walked along the poorly lit lane on her way home from work, she could hear footsteps behind her and she knew someone was following her. But looking back she could see nothing, which only increased the fear that was infusing her entire being and causing her to run at full speed with tear filled eyes.

But as afraid as she was, she was not surprised. She had expected to be confronted, threatened, even harmed or killed to silence her. She had to been too afraid to say anything to anyone about what she witnessed.

Just three days before, she, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, had become an eye witness to a murder. She had been returning home after her shift at the convenience store where she had been employed for the past year. As she passed an alley, she heard a woman's muffled cry for help. Turning around and starting into the alley to offer what help she could, she beheld a sight that shook her to the core. A woman was struggling with a man whose back only was visible from the street. Just then the attacker pulled a knife from his boot, stabbed the woman in the back, grabbed her handbag and turned around to flee. When he saw the witness he hesitated briefly staring at her, shocked and surprised that he had been seen.

That short time of eye contact gave her a head start as she began to run at full speed around the corner, where she ducked into an open door and hid herself behind some storage containers in the otherwise empty building. Curling herself into the fetal position with her heart pounding, she strained to hear the sound of his footfalls as he pursued her. To be sure he was gone and was not coming back, she remained in her hiding place for a whole hour before cautiously returning to the street and carefully making her way home.

Each of the three days since that horrifying experience she had made her way to and from work by using different routes, hoping to avoid contact with the murderer. At work she scrutinized every man who entered the store, expecting to encounter the hateful eyes and contorted face of that evil man. She had no idea what she would do if he did make an appearance in the store while she was alone but she would think of something. There was thee alarm button which would alert the police, but how long it would take for them to respond she did not know. He would, no doubt, have more than enough time to give her the same treatment with his knife he had given the woman in the alley.

And now three full days of agony, fearing for her life every minute of every day, she was being followed relentlessly. She couldn't stop running. She had to keep going or he would have her and she would be another of his murder victims. But she knew she could not run much further, so she changed her course and turned toward the police station, just two blocks away, where she collapsed into the arms of a policeman who had just exited the station.

She breathlessly explained the situation to him. She said she was being followed by the man who had killed a woman three days before and he was after her because she had witnessed the murder.

Then charging around the corner and running headlong into the officer, the man she had been trying to avoid for three days, the man she was deathly afraid of, made eye contact with her and she with him. "It's him! He's the man who killed that woman in the alley three days ago! I saw him do it!" she exclaimed.

While clamping handcuffs on the man, the policeman read him his rights, then took him to jail where he also took the statement from the witness who said, "That was the scariest thing that ever happened to me."

The scariest thing that ever happened to me…

By: Carrie Keiser

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a week and I just can’t think of what is the scariest thing that has every happened to me.  

Here are some examples of times I have been scared:

Every time one of my children drove a vehicle with me for the first time. Were we going to make it safe and sound? The first time they drove alone, would they return without any scratches on themselves or the vehicle? Those were scary times for me. Anytime I know my kid is out and about driving and I get a phone call I’m always scared that they have crashed, or gotten pulled over. 

The first time I drove a bus full of kids was terrifying, knowing I was responsible for each face I saw in my mirror. The first time I drove that bus full of kids in the snow/ice and slid around the corner to the delight of the kids was not so delightful to me, it was scary! When I was attempting to turn a corner on the slick roads and the bus wasn’t wanting to turn and there was a line of cars I was headed straight for, at the last possible moment the tires grabbed and we made the turn successfully without hitting anyone or anything.  Those were definitely very scary experiences.

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL

Copyright 2001

Daren Flynn

I loaded feeder steers at Lethbridge then took the long route, for we had found 

That at the vet at the Sweetgrass crossing took great pride in turning us around.

If one steer coughed or he found one wart, he'd reject the load and send us back.

The calves had to be reinspected and it took time to get back on track.

We found him out when we sent four trucks, all loaded random from the same pen.

Tow were shipped under our buyer's name and two under the name of a friend.

Doc "G" inspected the other two and then, as he turned to us, he said,

"That's the kind of cattle Pete should buy", then sent our loads back as infected.

So it was, that from that day forward, until that Vet retired,

We went through B.C. and Idaho to get to the place we desired.

It made the haul longer but saved time because we didn't have to turn back.

But, of course, we had to spend more time behind the wheel of that big green Mack.

I was headed back home from Shoshone after I had delivered that load,

Crossing the rugged Bitterroot range on that crooked Lost Trail Pass road.

I hadn't slept since leaving the house except for a short nap at Kingsgate.

Now, I was only two hours from home, just ninety-five miles to navigate.

I made it over that high summit and started down the Montana side.

But then I suffered a lapse in both time and memory, I must confide.

The next thing I knew, I was speeding toward one of those sharp hairpin curves,

Fighting the steering wheel and the brakes and trying hard to control my nerves.

I pushed on the brake with all my might but I couldn't get that rig to slow down,

And the steering wheel seemed to be locked into place and would not go around.

There were no guard rails or anything to stop or even slow that big truck.

I was about to fly off that cliff. I was out of time and out of luck.

Just before I went over the edge, I woke up from a nightmare so real

I was standing on the brake pedal and reefing on that big steering wheel.

Sweat was pouring down from my forehead and I was gasping to get my breath.

My heart was pounding like a sprinters', for I had just escaped certain death.

Although I'd been asleep at the wheel, the truck was parked and the brakes were set.

Where was I and how did I get there? Did I pull over and then forget?

Suddenly everything became clear and I remembered just what I had done.

I'd stopped for a fifteen-minute nap so I could make that two-hour run.

By: Colleen Holmquist

I didn’t know it at the time but the scariest experience of my life was simply the result of a natural phenomenon.

I was living in a basement apartment in the Lower Rattlesnake on Van Buren street with Marsha Butterfield.  It was the first time since I was a small child that I shared a bedroom with anyone.  I had just gone to bed and although it turned out to be a dream it felt incredibly real.

It was the deepest, darkest of nights; I was driving on a deserted highway in the vast nothingness of south central Idaho heading away from Salmon. I was suddenly enveloped by an oppressive—even evil—sensation.  I felt like I was strangling.  Terrified, I struggled and screamed except there was no sound escaping my throat and my limbs did not respond.  It seemed that I was doomed—no relief in sight. 

Eventually, I woke up with my heart still pounding in my ears, adrenalin pushing my heart to pound rapidly in my ears. I relaxed a bit when I realized that I was in my own bed in my room in Missoula.  I was reluctant to go back to sleep.

(Later, I wondered if that was the least bit akin to what Joseph Smith endured in the Sacred Grove?)

Years later as an EEG tech, I discovered that in that moment, I experienced the phenomenon of “hypnogogic paralysis.”  It happens as our bodies relax while we pass from the state of drowsiness into a deeper stage of sleep.  Most of the time, we are unaware of our inability to move or speak.  But when we are aware, it is terrifying!

----------------Random Stories---------------

Story Slingers 

February 27, 2022

Myrna Flynn

Clouds

1. Cumulus

2. Cumulonimbus

3. Stratus

4. Nimbostratus

5. Altostratus 

6. Altocumulus 

7. Cirrostratus

8. Stratocumulus

9. Cirrus

10. Cirrocumulus 

11. Cirrostratus

12. Cumulonimbus

13. Noctilucent Clouds

14. Polar Stratospheric

--Special Clouds--

15. Mammatus

16. Lenticular

17. Arcus

18. Roll Clouds

19. Cap Clouds

20. Billow Clouds

21. Contrails

22. Asperitas

23. Pyrocumulus

(Not to worry, I am not going to tell you about each one of these clouds!I do not know much about them.)

I was surprised that there were so many different kinds. The only clouds I had ever heard about were cumulus, cirrus, thunderclouds and anvil clouds. It is just that I am fascinated by them. I spent many hours as a child lying on the grass and watching the clouds drift by, looking for the ones that looked like: dogs, cats, faces, boats or whatever I could picture. I still do today when we are driving, walking or just looking out a window.Clouds reflect the light from the rising and setting sun, making the sunrises and sunsets so beautiful.

When we were at the canyon, visitors would come up to me and lament that there were clouds and they would not be able to see the sunset. I would tell them that the clouds would bring out the colors and show them a wonderful sunset. When I was making reservations for Air Star Helicopters, people would want a booking for a noon flight. I would tell them we did not do noon tours because the sun overhead would wash out the color.

So now you know my obsession with clouds.

Haikus of the Seasons

by: Ryanne Leavitt

The cold winds blowing

across the barren landscape

snow is piling up.

Birds flutter skyward

Bees buzz in the warmth of spring

trees bask in new growth.

Summer sun melting

on the concrete jungle ground

fades to evening light.

A chilly breeze blows

scattering leaves on the ground

hailing in autumn.

Tabor Tot girls (Layla and Jemma) contribute