current state of mind: on edge
I don’t get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns and stumbles and falls brought me here
Who was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face?
~ “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds
I am a big fan of crime shows. While I do not watch C.S.I., I do watch several others pretty religiously. I also love suspense thrillers and crime novels. Those close to me also know that when I get nervous in social situations I tend to bring up serial killer stories. So, it should come as no surprise when I relay this next story to you that I probably handled it differently than you would have.
I was working at my second job when I noticed that a text message had come in while I was assisting clients. Once they left, I checked my phone and saw this text from a number not programmed into my phone:
“The body is hidden, please let me know if there is anything else you would like me to take care of. Good Day”My first reaction was to laugh aloud. My second reaction was to respond. So I sent this message back:
“Thank you. Hope it actually stays hidden this time.”Knowing it was a prank, I eagerly awaited a witty response; but none came. In fact, the silence on the other end of the text message made me respect the prankster more. Finding the situation very amusing, I told a couple of friends about it and they were not as convinced that engaging with a stranger who talked about hiding a body was as funny as I thought. Both made references to the possible need to call law enforcement “just in case”. I felt that was a ridiculous idea and explained my reasoning:
1) No self-respecting killer would actually use the words “the body is hidden” in a text message. They would say something coded like “the cat litter has been flushed”.
2) People who are dumb enough to mention hiding bodies would not use the closing phrase “Good day.”
But, both friends still voiced some concerns, including the fact that maybe the message was sent to my phone by mistake and that the possibility exists that a body may have been hidden and now I have alerted them to my presence by responding. Again, I used logic stating that all I did was thank them; so in essence, I gave the sender the impression that he had performed a job well and could go about his day, week, etc. without worry.
Then this point was brought up: “What if it is a real killer and the phone is found and so is the body and your text message implicates you as an accomplice?”
To this question I laughed and responded that no one would believe I was an accomplice in what could be a botched crime and case of mis-texting. “Why not?” they asked. I just shook my head at the ridiculous question, “because anyone who knows me knows that I would hide the body myself and would never ever hire someone to do it for me. I would be afraid they’d F it up somehow, like perhaps texting me that they had hidden the body.” No one can argue with perfect logic.
Later in the evening I saw my brother and said, “You have to listen to this text message I got.” He asked if it had to do with hiding a body, because he got one too. I asked how he reacted when he read it. He had also responded to the prankster with a “thank you”. Since we had both received the text, we knew that the only culprit could be our sister, K-Shrub. So we agreed not to mention it to her, which I knew would force her hand. Sure enough, the next morning, she asked if I had received any weird text messages lately. I told her I hadn’t, which prompted a short moment of panic because she was concerned that she had actually misdialed my number and sent the text to the wrong person. HA! But then I laughed and she knew that her prank had been successful.
Just another reason why I love having a close-knit family and lots of siblings. I couldn’t make this stuff up!
PERSONAL NOTE: So glad the kids liked their gifts!
CONFIDENTIAL NOTE: Our song will always bring a smile to my heart and the stars will always shine for you. “You know I love you so. I swam across, I jumped across for you. Oh what a thing to do.”
