A mystery

Monday, 7:16 pm

By Kate

Nov

06

2006

Late this afternoon, I finally gathered together all the bags of empty soda cans, that I’d stashed in the basement since the middle of summer, to take back to the store. It’s not something that I particularly enjoy doing since they make it such a pain in the neck. We have to stand by machines and stick each can into a hole in the side of the machine and wait for it to count as a returned can or be spit back out at us for whatever reasons the machine comes up with. Sometimes we’re even lucky enough to find a machine that isn’t already full so that we can actually stand there stuffing cans into it. A goodly number of cans seem to collect in the basement before I can talk myself into going.

So, there I was, standing by the machine, plugging cans into it when a man came in with a shopping cart full his can-filled trash bags. He looked about as thrilled as I. And after feeding his machine for a few minutes, I happened to look over at him and he said, “I hate doing this. People look at you as if they think you’re desperate for spare change.”

Maybe it was projection or something. I dunno. That’s how we recycle our soda cans around here. Maybe he’s new to the area. Or maybe he was recycling for spare change and didn’t want me to think he was. Maybe I should have told him about the Mother’s Day several years ago when the lad and I did exactly that because the bank account was budgeted down to the last cent and there wasn’t a dime to spare. It also happened to be the most memorable Mother’s Day ever and one we reference every year. We scrounged up enough cans to provide us with a couple of ice cream cones to enjoy during a stroll along the boardwalk. In a lot of ways I look at that day as a very good lesson. And we had a lot of fun in the process.

But that’s not the mystery referenced in the title.

When I came home, the wireless router by the downstairs computer was blinking at me. That means that the main router is off or unplugged. I went upstairs to see what was going on with the main router. It was plugged in, but it was definitely off. I didn’t turn it off. It doesn’t just go off by itself. And then I discovered that the wall switch by the door that governs the router and other computer equipment was flipped to the off position. And I didn’t do that either. It was very much on and working just seconds before I left the house.

So how the heck did it get switched off while I was out of the house? Either we have ghosts or someone was here while I wasn’t.

That’s the mystery and one that leaves me feeling just a wee bit creeped out. The normal assumption might be that the switch by the door would turn on a light in the room. But it doesn’t. Only the computer stuff is on that circuit. I’ve checked all the rooms, closets, and the basement. No one is here and nothing has been disturbed or taken that I can see. But some physical (human) force flipped the wall switch to the off position. Who?