We Picked Up A Real Man

This story is completely true. It happened when I was about 10 years old, and I am now 27.

My grandfather built our house in the country himself with the help of a couple of friends and my father just before I was born. He was more like a father to me than a grandfather, because I spent more time with my gramp than a did my dad. So, every weekend he would have my mother work in the health food/vitamin store he owned so that he could go to our country home and tend to the huge garden he planted every year, or anything else that had to be done while he was there.

I went along with him every weekend. Being an only child, I always brought a friend along. The weekend that this experience happened, I had my Grand-mother's friend's son with me, who is a few years older than me.

There are many different routes you can take to get to our country home. One of which includes crossing the Saint John River on a small ferry. There are two ways to go from the ferry, a paved road (the longer way), but we always took the short route, down the dirt road on the left just after getting off the ferry.

It was a Friday night, we were later getting up there than usual, because I remember it was really dark out. Just as you turn onto the dirt road there are airplane towers way up in a field on a hill, that flash bright white lights to warn the planes of the towers. Those lights would light up the dirt road pretty well when they flashed.

Once we crossed the river on the ferry we got off and turned onto the dirt road. Not long after turning up the road we saw a man walking in the darkness along the side of the road. My friend and I were sitting in the back seat of the van Gramp had at the time. My Grandfather recognized the man, and pulled over to give him a lift to his house a short way up the road. The man gladly excepted and got into the van and sat up front with my Gramps. They chatted amongst themselves while my friend and I sat back quietly and said nothing. At one point the man turned and spoke to us. I cannot recall what he said, but as he turned to us the light on the airplane tower flashed and lit up his face. I was really freaked out when I finally got to see what his face looked like. He looked just like the scary old spirit man dressed all in black on the movie Poltergeist, (the bad man). I just kept still and quiet.

We carried on and once we reached his house not to far from where we had picked him up, he jumped out and thanked us, and disappeared into his house. I remember telling my Gramp that the man was scary looking. He might have scared me but he seemed like a very gentle and nice old fellow. I didn't get a bad vibe really, his appearance just creeped me out.

Well, we also carried on to our place, to the end of the dirt road and onto pavement again. Not long after we arrived, my grand-mother and her friend arrived. The two had decided to join all of us that weekend, and had driven up separately in her friend's car.

Once we had unpacked the groceries we had brought along, we all headed upstairs to our rooms and put our bags and suitcases away. While us two kids were in our room, I overheard a conversation my Grand-mother and Grand-father were having in the next room over.

I heard my grand-father telling my grand-mother that he had given Mr. Jones a ride home. I distinctly heard her say to my grand-father,
"Gene, Mr. Jones passed away about a month ago. I read his obituary in the newspaper."
I then heard them discuss the fact that they would keep that to themselves and not mention it to the kids. Probably a good idea, but it was too late I had already heard them!!