A DARK AND FOGGY NIGHT OUT CAME---!

      After a Saturday night in the big city of Marshalltown during the early 1960's, one headed back toward the small town of Laurel, generally sometime after midnight. This could be after your important date with your favorite sweetie or a night of just loop-scooping in M-Town!

      The ten miles south to Laurel from Marshalltown on highway 14, was pretty uneventful and you could generally put your brain on automatic co-pilot and even negotiating the S curve south of Marshalltown a couple of miles. 
    
      On this particular Saturday night during the fall in the early 1960's, coming back in my 1957 Chevy, I encountered fog off and on all the way back to Laurel. As with fog, you have to pay attention a little bit, but, I had made it to the outskirts of Laurel because I saw the sign that said Laurel-population 200 and-something! 

       As I was on Main street or Highway 14, and as I was coming up the slow rise from the north into town, IT came out at me like the headless horseman! Out of the swirling and smothering fog! Out of nowhere  along the side of the street or highway!

      It was this GIGANTIC faceless head of some type on top of a human body! It was a wonder that I didn't have to change my shorts later, but, my heart did stop a second or two and the hairs stood straight up on the back of my neck!
  
      When I finally pulled into the "guys after date rendezvous spot," The Standard Oil & Gas Station on the west side of Main Street, it was still coming after or at me! Then- it removed its head! It was none other than Bill Brown, an upper class-man, who came back earlier from Marshalltown and decided to play that trick on the next chump coming back into town. I was the random target. 

       To let you out of suspense, he used one the "crowns" that sat up atop the gas pumps at the gas station. He did show a bit of "foggy night" brilliance with his one man caper! Even though the joke was on me , I always appreciated the effort. It was a good one! And, scary!