George Jackson, Author

Ten Day Adventure???

     My wife and I have just returned from a ten day road trip to Vermont, Connecticut and parts north. We went up to spend time with my sister who had recently had a a serious procedure. We also went to enjoy helping my sister and her husband set up and take down their art tent and display at Art in the Park in Rutland, Vermont. My sister is a very famous oil and watercolor artist in New England, Ann McFarren. (In fact the character Louise May McFadden in my Falls small town mystery series is modeled after her.) Art in the Park is a time tested art and craft show held once in the spring and once in the fall around the town square in Rutland. (Check out Art in the Park, Rutland). We had a great time. The foliage was almost in peak season and we got to see and enjoy lots of family.

     From there, we headed down to Coventry, CN where our son and his wife live. We spent a couple of wonderful days with them on our way back home to Tradition, Florida. We also had a had a wonderful time with them and our grandson.

     And so our adventure took us 1500 miles up and fifteen hundred miles back. The first fifteen hundred miles was done in a rather leisurely fashion in two and a half days staying at two Hampton Inns, our hotel of choice. The return trek was done in a little over twenty-six hours with only gas and potty breaks. This second, hurried trip was necessary because we got a phone call from the police and out security company telling us that our home had been broken into!

     Needless to say, we had all kinds of awful thoughts as we made out way back home. Luckily, the contractor we had hired to add an outside, screened in patio deck complete with pavers arrived just after the thieves had broken our sliding glass door window and were ransacking our house. When the contractor called out to us, thinking we were home early, the surprised thieves jumped out the bedroom window. When we finally did arrive home this morning, we found that several things had been gathered by the sliding glass door to take with the thieves. Fortunately, they were only able to abscond with some of my good jewelry (from an earlier life as a school principal).

     Apparently, the people who broke and entered our house are known as the "pillowcase" bandits in the area, because they enter a home with nothing and carry out easily sold and valuable items in a pillowcase stolen from the house. Okay...let's be honest...after the anger and shock died down a bit (my thoughts included having five minutes alone with the miscreants to inflict massive damage!), I began to have a distinct yen to include these bandits in one of my The Falls small town mystery series! You heard it here first! Watch for it! Strange what a writer's brain focuses on, isn't it?!

     During the day, we talked to our insurance agent, met with the police who had dusted for prints and were following up leads, along with talking with some neighbors who were very helpful and thanking our contractor heartily. After two days without sleep we took an hour and a half nap...but that hardly made a dent in the weariness.

     So, our adventure is over, except for the cleaning up, filling out police and insurance forms and wondering if the dastardly hoodlums will ever decide to return. Now we'll look at increased security matters and staying close to home for awhile. I will put the dragons on high alert (they love to singe the a**es of nefarious characters!) as well.

     May your day have been much better than ours...