Desert Ghost

One of my English friends tells me, quite seriously, about the ghost that lives in her house with her family. When something can't be found, like her webcam, I blame Maurice, her ghost.

While I joke about it, I have apparently unwittingly begun to believe in ghosts. The other morning I was sitting at my computer, and I felt a hand on my thigh. I kid you not. I nearly jumped out of my chair. It was so real. And for a moment, I thought it was a ghost. Seriously.

I caught my breath and got back to work, when there it was again only a lighter touch this time. I put my hand on the ghost's hand and didn't feel anything. I decided it wasn't a ghost, but didn't really come up with a reasonable explanation of what it was, if not a ghost.

Then I felt it move. I KNOW I felt it. I grabbed at my jeans' pocket and pinched lightly. OMGosh! There WAS something there. Something real. I was out of my chair. I don't remember undoing the button and zipper to my jeans. I hastily rolled my waist band outward and kept going until something flipped out and to the floor.

My first thought with seeing the tan creature was it was a scorpion and I was lucky he hadn't stung me. I moved back quickly, just to stay safe. The thing was three and a half inches long...not counting the tail, which was laying nearby twitching to beat all get-out.

His tail was wagging more than a waggy dog. My heart was racing. I cannot believe I hadn't screamed like bloody murder. It wasn't moving, so I moved a bit closer to get a look. It just laid there, lifeless. His eyes were open - kind of bugged-out. He was tan with a couple of small spots on him, maybe bruises I had caused. I just kept saying, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Poor thing, it was a desert lizard. They are very good in the yard; no need to kill him. One of my Indian friends says they are a 'good spirit.' This is Indian Country, they ought to know, right?

I called my youngest to remove the creature, which I usually do and he doesn't. But my heart was beating hard and I was still pulling up my jeans, so I was in no state to deal with a dead thing on the floor of my office. (We have a swimming pool, it isn't like he hasn't seen my legs before.) I have no idea why I put those jeans back on. Sheesh.

Anyway, being a pacifist, I suggested that I would get the patio door and my kid would scoop up the poor thing in the dust pan. We would put him on the ground under a nice plant rather than throw him in the trash.

I'm by the patio door. From my office, I hear, "Mom, he is STILL ALIVE." So we find something better to capture him. When we returned, you guessed it, only the wiggly tail was out in the open. To make a long story short, he lead us on a chase through the books on the bookshelf but we caught this tailless guy and let him lose under a plant near the wall, in the shade. He took off like a rocket.

I named him, DG (Desert Ghost) and until his tail grows back, we'll know if we spot him again.

If you are interested in what started this ghost business, you need to buy my friend's audio book, "Ghost Sniffer." These aren't scary stories. They are believable stories. They left me wondering, is this real? She ought to know, she has a ghost in her house. Right? Even their cat sees Maurice.

Email me [NadineLaman@aol(dot)com] and I'll forward it to her. The book is Ghost Sniffer.
OR try this: http://www.completetrainer.co.uk/Miscellany/Ghost_Sniffer_Audio_Book