The main street was a paved road that stretched nearly a
three mile distance from end to end with little shops set up on thin sliced
sidewalks. Once you hit the outskirts of this two -horse town the hard surfaced
paved road would turn to dirt until about a half a mile from the freeway as it
turned back into blacktop covering so that cars could see it was a traveled
road. From where I was driving I kept my speed down so not to draw attention to
the local sheriff or police as I could tell this was a place with few comforts
and activities. Actually, it looked like a real dull rural town.
Checking out the antiquated street lights and the light
pedestrian traffic I could sense there was very little happening even at this
early evening hours as the sun was setting slowly in the western sky. The only
thing I could figure was that those people that lived here either got fed up
with the big city life or wanted to get away from the noise and hustle of the
crowded city. My main concern though was the police as I didn’t want to get a
ticket in a place where you can be easily forgotten.
Coming into town you could see abandoned oil wells and drill
platforms aged and rusted with weeds growing around them. No doubt this was
once an oil booming town but all but those that remained had given up on the
oil when it became too expensive to maintain and keep going. Entering the town
limits the sign read elevation 1209 feet above sea level and population 2001.
It certainly didn’t look like an All-American town but it could have been in
its best days gone by.
I can only imagine this town was once a booming business
town that delivered and produced oil wells with enough to keep it alive for a
while. What I had read about boom town turning into ghost town, it appeared
this town was trying to survive as it was set away from the big city but
located off the freeway to make it a tourist stop. I supposed that when it was
booming it had all the big city problems and sin as those wildcatters were a
rough bunch of men that drank their whiskey and loved their women.
Looking closely at some of the abandoned building I could
tell there had been a big fire here some time ago and the rubbish and ruins
were never demolished or cleaned up leaving partial structures up to reflect
those days of the past. The first building I saw driving in was the town hall
with a statue of a civil war hero situated right there in the front where the
steps led you into the white marble like building. Although aged, it was
uncommonly clean and pleasant to the eye as it reflected the architectural
beauty of the past.
The rest of the rustic looking town itself resembled what we
call a country setting with small buildings and shops to accommodate the
customers looking to buy groceries, fish bait and guns and ammo as there were
few dress retail shops and maybe one barber on that not so busy boardwalk
stretch that nary any shade from the hot blistering sun. No building taller
than a two story structure and sky scrapers were only seen on picture in the
magazines sold in the only drug store down on Main Street.
The filling station seemed to have been remodeled and the
island had four new pumps that took your credit card with pleasure as they were
new and modern as can be. No doubt this
was a self-service only as I didn’t see anyone working there at the time.
Considering the modern style of the pumps, I was impressed that the pumps were
so up-to-date while everything around them looked different.
This was so contrary to the background as the gas station’s surrounding
billboards and window panes gave away their century old age as the paint has
peeled and the wood had warped from the sun and the rain that beat down on this
little dwelling every day of the year without any rain or snow in the forecast
now for over five years. The sign read “credit cards only” giving me the
impression that cash was not a condition of the sale as I dug deep into my
wallet and found my choice of plastic away saving the cash for another day.
Down at the end of the paved road was a brightly lit and
painted Motel 6 and it was likely the most modern building in town. It can be
seen from far if you are driving the elevated freeway as they always leave the
light on so you can stop there during the night and rest up a spell before
heading out down the road again. Notoriously Motel 6 has long been the king of
the road as they have put their motel chain on every backroad in America. Having
not much of a choice it was my preferred place to stay for the night.
Checking in the Motel 6, the clerk was friendly and offered
me a cup of coffee. I said “no thank you, I just want to go to bed and sleep.”
She asked me to fill out some forms and gave me a key. Not a computerized key
but a real key. She smiled and said “we are still too old fashioned here to
keep up with the business” and I realized that as long as the bed and linen
were clean I would have no gripes tonight except to get a good night’s sleep.
My ebony colored Mustang GT convertible was the only car in
the lot. I must have picked a quiet night to travel and the check in for some
rest as the crickets were loud and the frogs were bellowing the loudest with a
big mean looking owl sitting up there in one of those trees scanning the fields
in the moonlight. Looking for food has become hard for these critters as the
dry spell has left the fields barren and empty with greenery as the telltale
signs of a drought were very evident around this motel lot. After unpacking and
putting my stuff away into the bottom rented room, I stepped outside for some
fresh air and to relax a bit.
After about ten minutes or so after walking a ways from the
room and parking lot I began to hear strange grunts and a foul smell. My
imagination also heard footsteps but I knew there were no other people around
so I blew that off as my imagination. Maybe it was a deer or another animal I
had scared off and spooked it with my presence. No matter much because it
stopped almost as soon as it began. I certainly didn’t feel it was a strange
experience to hear an animal out there running away.
Walking back slowly I heard that noise of footsteps again.
Gently I found a heavy stone and heaved it towards the sound into the barren
woods. Although I didn’t see anything I threw the rock into the vicinity
because I was somewhat frightened and caught off guard.
The barren fields showed no plants and no trees as this arid
condition revealed everything in brown rather than their natural colors. Even
though this area was not inhabited with people, the place was located what was
once a wild animal sanctuary area where people can no longer live for reasons
caused by an oil spill many years ago that killed the land and the animals on
it. Naturally I thought this was the reason for the eerie spell or notion this
land was poisoned by man.
Even with a full moon shining through the bare trees you
could tell they were dying as no leaves were growing on them like the others
down the road. Perhaps the frogs were screaming because their tongues were
parched and extremely dry because of the dry weather.
It could also be because they are in distress. Some people claim that frogs scream when they are caught by
predators, so that they can save their relatives or other individuals of the
same species which may flee when they hear them scream. A folk-lore at its
best, it would be hard to believe in today’s day and age.
Other than the clerk inside the place seemed deserted. The
stillness of the night gave me an eerie feeling and a chill down my spine but I
figured it was because of it being so quiet that I had the jitters on this
sleepless night as insomnia was kicking in keeping me awake till the early
dawn.
Never a man that liked breakfast in bed I walked over to the
check in lobby area and poured me a cup of coffee on the house and a hot
cinnamon roll freshly baked. The icing was smooth and glazed white like snow
and the taste was deliciously home-made I could tell. There were two coffee
dispensers – one said decaf and the other said real coffee – I laughed and
poured me some caffeine into the Styrofoam cup.
My eyes were a bit swollen from not sleeping so well but I
can’t blame the bed for that as it was just right for me to lay me down
comfortably with double pillows behind my head. I slept with the TV on and as a
habit and turned it off so that rest a spell. Although I had showered and
washed my hair, it was kind of wild that morning so I donned my Oakland Raiders
cap to keep it down.
I was thinking maybe I was suffering from sleep deprivation
because I have been having trouble falling asleep. I knew that there were
certain signs that pointed to such a disorder but I doubted it was real because
I was sleeping as good as I thought it could be while on the road. Regardless I
decided that not getting the solid sleep last night didn’t solve any of my
problems at the time. I knew I needed coffee to sober up a bit and become more
alert.
After drinking the coffee and snacking on the roll, I
decided to take a stroll down the road a bit and check out the scenery as it
was covered with fresh misty like dew. Strange how the air was so moist and the
plants were so dry but perhaps nature has its own rules down here and the
reasons are not important. Wearing my Nikes I started to walk down the paved
road until it turned into dirt – must have only been a mile or two before it
did so.
I saw critters crawling and jumping from tree to tree as
their barren shadows against the rising sun gave away their presence and
fearfully trying to hide from me behind empty tree trunks and leafless foliage.
The owl had disappeared and the mice were playing in plain view as I walked
another distance until I came up to an old white shuttered house with someone
sitting on the front porch singing a song and biting down on a homemade pipe. Slowly
I noticed the field were beginning to be filled with full bloomed trees and
green and purple plants. Funny how it was only a couple of hundred feet apart
the soil and scenery was so different.
Still too early in the morning to bother people I nodded my
head as I walked by and got a hand in the air waving at me like he wanted me to
stop and talk for a while. Never in a
hurry, I strolled down to the front gate of the house and found it open as his
hound dog met me with a vigorous tail wagging event that showed me he was
friendly and not likely to bite me for intruding on his turf. Funny how that
man sitting there on the porch had put a red bandana on his dog as it resembled
the same bandana the old man was wearing on his head. “Twins” I said to myself
and made eye contact with the old man on the porch.
A straw hat barely covered his greying hair and the bandana
did the rest. I could tell he had been up for quite some time and had his cup
of coffee right there beside him. His speech was distinguished as a local
accent or drawl showed he was from here and must have been all his life. His
friendly smile made me feel at ease as he asked me to sit down on the rocker
that was at least one hundred years old to the day.
We made some small talk and we laughed at some jokes as the
time flew by I told him I had to go but he insisted that I stay and have some
rhubarb pie he made the night before. I sensed there was no missus and I didn’t
ask any questions but I could tell he was a friendly man – a lonely man indeed.
We talked about the weather and we talked about the
president of the United States as he revealed his service record in World War
II. A distinguished flyer, gentleman and an officer I was sure enough there was
a leader in this man as it his testimony of his war record was impressive to
say the least and slowly I learned enough about him to realize his eyes had
seen more of the world than many others I have known. An American hero hiding
here in the country side where the only noise you hear are the birds flying
above and an occasional trucker coming down from the freeway either lost or
looking for some diesel.
The sun was about half way up to mid noon up above when I
told this man I had to go. I told him of my travel plans and that although I
wasn’t in a hurry, I had to check out of the motel and be on my way. Out of the
blue he asked me my business and I told him I had none. I told him I was just
traveling and decided to stop here and stay at the motel for a good night’s
rest but that it didn’t work out that way.
He asked me politely but with caution and asked me if I
believed in the supernatural and the existence of ghost. I told him I believed
in God’ angels and their presence here on Earth so it is very possible that we
are also surrounded by ghost. He laughed and told me “how was your night? Was
it peaceful?” he asked. I thought about his questions and answered him with a
serious voice “I didn’t sleep well at all last night as I kept waking up
thinking I was hearing voices but there was nobody around and the television was
on but it was playing some kind of music or something.”
Time was pushing me to move on and as I got up the man
looked at me and asked “did you see a cemetery in this town son, did you happen
to pass one by when coming into this town?” I said “no sir, I didn’t see a
cemetery but I wasn’t really looking for one.” Peeking my curiosity I had to
ask him “why?” He said “son, did you notice the dryness of the fields and the
dying trees of the barren soil and shrubs near the motel?” I answered him “yes, I noticed it was more
barren and empty than the other spots and places in town or down the road.” I told
him I thought it was so because of no rain.
He slowly stood up and said to me “son, the reason you
couldn’t sleep was because you were sleeping among the dead, they built that
motel there over the old cemetery and they have been raising hell ever since.
They never bothered to move the bodies and they have been screaming ever since
that day they poured the first stone for the foundation.” They are feeling
crowded and want to be set free so they yell and scream every night until
someone can hear them and set them free.
Finally after sitting there talking to the old man on the
porch for several hours he told me his name as I told him mine. He introduced
himself as Amos Andy and he revealed he was older that the dirt around him and
smarter than the foxes that once lived here. I laughed and I asked him “why do
you have two first names” and he smiled “because my daddy named me after his
favorite television show and he liked that name.”
He added his daddy changed his real name from Amos Hardy to
Amos Andy after he decided that it was a better name for him. In a deep second
breath he wasn’t going to argue with his daddy as his daddy was a big man that
carried a big twig to keep him and his siblings in line. Although he smiled and
laughed when he said this I could tell he was dead serious. Drawing another
breath he said “my daddy is buried there in that cemetery and every now and
then he comes visits me and sets me straight.”
Getting back on the haunting he was wide eyed and with a frown
on his face as he drew a deep gasp and stated that building that motel was a
big mistake. He was blunt and said that when they built that motel, they killed
everything in this town and it has been haunted ever since. Smiling he said “didn’t you notice son, you
were the only one staying there and the parking lot was empty except the old
pickup truck that woman drives back and forth to work? Everybody here knows the
place is haunted and nobody goes there unless they are from out of town and
even then the tales have been told that nobody really wants to stay there
overnight because they just can’t get away from the eerie noises and the
irritating breeze or wind that flows over that building even with the windows
shut. At the very least, the foul smell chases them away as they think it’s the
algae in the pool that give off that awful stench.”
I had a feeling that was the case but I don’t give much to
the supernatural and the old man made it sound like a story tale that was both
a legend and designed to get on somebody’ nerve of rub them the wrong way.
Little did I know the old man might have been telling the truth and although
this story rubbed me the wrong way, it stuck in my crawl and made me think more
and more about the possibility I slept among the dead.
The clock was a ticking and the Mustang was fueled and ready
to go down the highway. I looked into my rearview mirror at the motel as I left
it behind and sensed a relief as I drove onto the freeway taking me down the
road for another adventure on life’s own highway. About five miles down the road I saw a
billboard sign advertising the Motel 6 I had just slept in and said to myself
“good riddance and turn the light off – that place was scary.”
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