The night schedule has started to take a toll on my health. Specifically my weight. I wasn’t eating right and sleeping all day, thus no exercise and lots of bad calories. So I figured it was time for a change. I used to fence and until I find some where to do that I’m running. I’m running in the morning right after my shift ends and before I go to bed. I certainly never thought I’d become a runner but with the proper equipment and a bit of Google research I’m finding it enjoyable. It does help that in the mornings most people are just starting their day and they aren’t feeling the crush of life as quite the burden it will seem later in the day. Of course fresh air and the chirping of birds helps a bit too.
The path I’m running takes me back to my childhood literally and figuratively and it’s bringing back memories I’d thought forgotten. The time in question is of a simpler time and life. I wasn’t aware of Urban Legends and so ended up repeating what was based on a local spot in my home town.
It was called Monster Road and as kids we had heard the story. Who first told the story none of us knew but we loved repeating it on stormy nights or over Smores around the campfire when out camping in the summer months. This is how it went.
It’s the typical teenager story with a teenage boy and girl on a date. They are driving back late at night after a movie and a hamburger at the local joint. The boy of course is being a boy and trying all those boy things we get to when there’s a girl involved. He stops on an out of the way road and pulls the “the car won’t start” ploy. Ages old and always a failure because it’s ages old. The girl likes the boy, but after a few minutes of “shenanigans” decides it’s time to get home. After a few more minutes of patiently explaining that if she doesn’t get home on time, the car not starting will be the least of his worries. Yes she mentions dad. The boy decides that yes the car should be working now. To add credence to his story though he decides to make a show of checking the engine. So he gets out and raises the hood and asks her to turn the key. The car really doesn’t start this time. The boy notices that the battery cable has been ripped off the battery. After convincing the girl that this isn’t what he had planned, he decides to go for help. Telling the girl to get in the back seat and cover herself with a blanket (by this time his original plan was a distant memory). He tells her to not look out or make any noise until he calls her name. He gets a quick kiss for his bravery and then he walks off into the darkness. Keep in mind this was out in the countryside and so no street lights. Just the light of the moon in and out of the clouds to illuminate the night. A few minutes later she hears a lite scratching noise. She keeps her head down and waits for her knight in shining armor to come back. On and off thru out the nite she continues to hear the scratching sound but can’t tell what it is. She is getting more and more scared as the hours wear on but doesn’t come out from under the blanket. She finally succumbs to a fitful sleep and is awakened by a man’s voice. He identify’s himself as the local sheriff and calls her by name. She peeks out and see’s that it really is the officer. He gets her to unlock the car door and as she walks away he tries to keep her from looking back at the car. She glances back though and is horrified to see her boyfriend hanging from a tree directly over the roof of the car and as the wind blew, his fingers scrapped the metal.
So there you have the story we told each other as kids. What lent it reality was the fact that outside of our town there was a road called, Monster Road. No one knows how it really got it’s name but us kids knew. The adults never corrected us, so there it was. The funny thing is that I believed that story well into adulthood. It wasn’t until my 40’s that I heard a variation of the story but with the same road name. That’s when I realized how foolish I was as a kid. It was an Urban Legend and I had helped perpetuate the story. I will say though that when I’m out running and I start down the road (which was renamed back in the 80’s) I do look around and hope I don’t run into the Monster of Monster Road. Oh and I still don’t go there after dark. Just sayin’. Okay it’s Midnite so that’s my cue. Time to SIGN ON.
