THE FARMER IN THE HALLWAY

My brother Tommy and I shared a room for a while when we were young. At the time of the incidents you’re about to read, he was 3 and I was 13. His bed was on one side of the room and mine was on the other — directly across from the doorway. Outside the doorway was a long hallway. One end led to the kitchen, the other to the bathroom and my older sister’s bedroom. She’s seven years older than me, and on this particular night, she was sleeping over a friend’s house.

I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason at all. Just boom, eyes open, staring at the ceiling like a confused Roomba stuck in a corner. A few minutes later, my little brother sat straight up in his bed like someone hit his internal “ON” switch. I asked him why he was awake. He said, “I don’t know, I just woke up.” Same, Tommy. Same.

He asked if he could come into my bed with me. Of course, I said yes. We sat up with our pillows behind us, talking quietly, facing the doorway.

Then we heard a bang.

We froze.

We stared at the doorway, waiting for our mother to appear.

But nope. No mother.

Instead…

A farmer walked by.

Yes. A farmer.

Overalls. Pitchfork. Straw hat. Scraggly light‑brown beard.

Like he walked straight out of a Cracker Barrel gift shop and into our hallway.

 He stopped at our doorway, turned his head toward us, smiled, and then kept walking toward my sister’s room. Now, I say WE saw it, because what happened next proves it. After he passed by, Tommy and I looked at each other and — at the exact same time, said:

 “Did you see that?”

“YES.”

 Perfectly synchronized. Like backup singers in a concert for the President.

 Now listen… I know I’m the big sister. I know I’m supposed to protect my little brother. But don’t you know I nudged him and said:

“Go follow him.”

I sent a THREE‑YEAR‑OLD to investigate a farmer. I should’ve been ashamed, but nope- no shame was had - And that brave little boy got out of bed and left the room.

 He came back a few minutes later with his eyes wide like he just saw Santa, Bigfoot, and the Tooth Fairy playing poker. 

I asked, “Did you follow him?”

He nodded yes.

“What happened??”

Tommy said, “The man went into Linda’s brown closet without opening the door. Then I opened it… and the man went through the bottom.”

 I just stared at him. 

“Gone?”

Tommy nodded yes again.

We did NOT go back to sleep. We shut our bedroom door, climbed into my bed, and sat there talking until daylight. When the sun finally came up, we ran to wake our mother and told her everything. She said we must have been dreaming.

“Both of us? The same dream? At the same time?”

She just silently looked at me as if she was thinking like a mother who suddenly regretted taking second‑hand furniture off a friend's hand.

I said, “Mom, we were awake. We were talking. We weren’t sleeping.”

She brushed it off.

 When our sister got home, we told her too. I don’t know if Mom ever believed us, but my sister seemingly did. She at least looked way more convinced than Mom.

And that brown standalone closet in her room? Oh, I wasn’t letting that go. I questioned it like I was Sherlock Holmes Turns out my mother got it from someone she knew — and it belonged to their relatives. that passed away. So, the family cleaned out the house and offered furniture to their relatives and friends.

 My mother took the closet.

From a house over 100 years old.

From an area that used to be farmland over 100 years ago.

The closet was so old it had a skeleton key to open and lock! That alone speaks volumes. It’s enough to convince me and my brother. I’m now 62 and he is 52. We both still remember that incident like it was yesterday. Let’s face it- It’s not something you ever forget.

 THE WIND CHIMES INCIDENT

(Because apparently one haunting wasn’t enough.)

 Another day and another time - I went into my sister’s room while she wasn’t home. I was the younger, nosey sister — nosey like a raccoon in a dumpster full of secrets. I rummaged through her drawers (not the brown closet though — I wasn’t THAT brave), and then sat on her bed, probably thinking about how to avoid getting caught.

My sister had wind chimes hanging between her two windows.

No windows were open.

No breeze.

No draft... And those wind chimes started spinning…

 FAST.

 I ran out of that room like a cat who just fell into a full bathtub. And just as suddenly as they started, they stopped. I heard the silence behind me as I ran down the hall.

So, I stopped too.

 I slowly crept back down the hall, peeking into the room like a detective who does NOT get paid enough for this and the chimes were perfectly still. Like they were grounded by their ghost parents.I told my mom. She said there had to be a logical explanation.

 Sure, Mom. The farmer was probably just blowing out his ghostly birthday candles.

 She reprimanded me for going into my sister’s room, then checked the windows — locked, sealed, not even a draft. She shrugged it off like it was just my imagination. But I knew better.

 My sister’s room was always cold — like see‑your‑breath cold at times.

 Every time I’ve told these stories, I don’t know if people believed me. But when two people see the same thing at the same time, plus the cold room, the spinning chimes, the antique closet from a 100‑year‑old farmhouse, and the farmer himself…

 That’s not coincidence.

 That’s not the same dream by two different people.

 That’s not imagination.

 That’s what I call a full‑blown haunting. And believe it or not- these are NOT the only incidents that occurred in that apartment. Years later I was reading the newspaper and there was an article about Bay Ridge history- and apparently that too was all farmland at one time! Whether you believe or not- This is a true story to the best recollection my brother and I have. Our story has never changed. No matter which one of us you hear it from- we tell it the same way, as we experienced it together.

 

 

The Summer We Got Busted … Twice

When I lived in NJ, one summer we had a small gathering of friends over for BBQ and drinks but more like it was a music fest sponsored by bad decisions. We were grilling, swimming in the pool during the day, in and out of the jacuzzi at night. Naturally, there was wine and beer involved, because we were adult parents with stress levels that required fermentation!

My two friends/ neighbors (we’ll call them Katey and Lindsy) were there, well into the evening, after 11 pm - with music blaring and having a good time, as we always did. Katey kept making the radio louder like she was trying to signal passing aircrafts, and right after I would lower it and walk away she would make it louder again. I finally gave up because I knew arguing with a drunk woman after she emptied multiple wine glasses is a losing battle.

I guess giving up was a mistake, because apparently none of what we were doing went over well with a neighbor nearby — because one of them called the police! Granted, we were probably too loud, and the combination of music and our laughter just got to the neighbor, who was probably salty because they weren’t invited.

Regardless, when the police arrived, I think they were more shocked than we were - because when they came into the backyard with their flashlights blazing into our eyes, standing before us were two of what looked like the youngest cops I ever saw, and they just started to laugh! Maybe they were lost on the way to their police academy freshman orientation. One of them even had acne!

I asked what they were laughing at and they literally replied:

“We’re sorry, it’s just that on weekends when we get a noise complaint, it’s typically teenagers partying because their parents aren’t home! We never expected to see old people!”

Old people? We were all around 40-ish! We promised to keep it down, and soon as they left- we went right back to the way things were before they arrived. However, I guess the neighbor that called threw in the towel, because they apparently didn’t call the police back.

Round Two: The Karaoke Incident

Another time and another weekend — Katey, Lindsy and I were doing karaoke in Lindsey’s backyard. Lindsy lived 6 houses down the block from me. It was after 10 pm, and there we were acting like music stars, microphones in hand, as if we were headlining Madison Square Garden on our comeback tour.

We were drinking, singing, and minding our own business, and here come two cops, flashlights blazing in our eyes (again). I’m starting to see a pattern! They weren’t the same cops, but men in blue nonetheless — and bummer- they weren’t built like they were auditioning for a calendar… damn-it.

“Ugh, not again,” I said. Katey looked at me and said, “At least it’s not the kiddie cops!”

I laughed, and one of the cops shined the light right into Katey’s face and said, “Excuse me?” Now one would think Katey would have been more compliant but… alcohol.

So she said to the officer: “It’s just that the last time, we had two kids fresh out of the Academy, in uniforms reprimanding us like we were grounded for missing curfew.”

Apparently, that wasn’t the right thing to say, but Lindsey quickly apologized on Katey’s behalf and said we would tone it down. They gave us a stern warning and said they don’t want to come back, and left. We promptly took the karaoke machine inside and continued our fun — because we may be “old,” but we are not quitters.

Never in my life (especially after everything I did growing up) did I ever expect at the age of 40 something, for police to be dispatched - not once, but twice in one summer on us. But, here we are (or should I say- there we were)!

The Takeaway

If the cops show up twice in one summer and you’re over 40, congratulations — you’re still fun, but now you need a lawyer.

 

The Busted Meteor Reading

Category                                  Score                                                             Notes

Chaos Level                             8.5/10          T wo police visits in a summer / no arrests. Impressive.

Volume Control                          2/10          Katey vs. the radio: a battle she absolutely won.

Neighbor Patience                    1/10          They heard us, then immediately dialed 911.

Police Shock Factor               10/10          Expected teens. Found adults pretending to be teens.

Age Insult Accuracy                  0/10        “Old people?” Absolutely not.

Karaoke Commitment              9/10          Took it inside only after law enforcement intervention.

Likely to Repeat Offense         9/10          If music exists, so does the risk.

Cops’ Professionalism             7/10          Stayed serious… until they saw your faces.

Your Group’s Energy                11/10          Backyard Beyoncé meets suburban rebellion.

Actual Crime Committed        0/10          Just being fun in New Jersey.

 

 

 

 

Roger the Scam Slayer

A few years back, our phone rang during dinner. My husband Roger picked up our landline, and it was one of those classic scam calls — the kind where the guy on the other end claims he’s from Microsoft and says we have a computer virus. You know the type: an accent, a bad script, and the confidence of someone who thinks we were born yesterday.

When Roger answered the phone, the guy launches right into it:

“Sir, I am calling from Microsoft. We detected your computer has a virus.”

Roger, in a completely calm tone, says,

“Oh no … that’s no good.”  Like he’s reacting to a weather report, not a fake cyber‑emergency.

The scammer tells him not to panic; he can guide him through removing the virus. Meanwhile, we’re literally in the middle of eating our dinner. Roger tells him, “Well, my computer is old, so you will need to hold on while it boots up. The scammer reassures him that he can wait and will help him through this to “fix it”. Roger says “OK, hold on”, and my husband put the phone receiver down on the dining room table, and we continue eating …

… quietly. Like two people hiding from a bear.

 Five minutes later, Roger casually picks up the phone and says, “I’m sorry you’re waiting so long, my computer is somewhat of a dinosaur, and it takes long for everything to load up”.

 The scammer: “No worries, sir, I’m waiting here to help you” …. We continue to eat dinner!

Another 5 minutes goes by; this man must be hanging on like he’s probably imagining the commission he thinks he’s about to earn, maybe even planning what he’ll buy with it — a new headset? Maybe a better script?

 Finally, after we were done eating and stringing him along, Roger decides it’s time to end the show. He picks up the receiver and says: “OK, it’s all booted up!”

 The scammer: “Okay sir, I need you to go to start so you can open — 

And before the guy got to say another word, Roger, without missing a beat, goes:

“Before I do that … what’s your Microsoft ID?

Dead. Silence. You practically know the man’s soul left his body right at that moment.

Then — click. He was gone. Vanished. Teleported back to whatever scam cave he crawled out of.

 Roger hung up the phone, looked at me, and said,

“Well… that took care of that.”

The Amish Fireplace

Another story — and yes, Roger the Scam Slayer struck again. This one took place in 2010.

Roger was reading the Sunday newspaper, and those papers were always stuffed with insert ads and coupons. One of the most memorable was the “FREE Amish Fireplace!” ad. You know the one: a beautiful wooden handcrafted hearth, lovingly built by Amish craftsmen who clearly did not approve the marketing copy. Roger looks it over and decides to have some fun.

He calls the 800 number and says: “I’m interested in the free fireplace!”

 The customer service rep: “Great! I’ll take your information and we will get that right out to you!”

Roger gladly gives his name, address, phone number. Then the rep says: “Ok sir, now I’ll take your payment information.”

 Roger: “I’m confused… Payment? For my free fireplace?”

 Rep: “Sir, you have to buy the electric insert.”

 Roger very calmly says: “No, I’m reading your ad. It says FREE. I’ll take my free cabinet, Thank you. I don’t want the insert. You advertised it as free, so you have to give it to me free.”

 Rep: “Sir, that’s not how this works.”

 Roger: “It is how it works… especially when you advertise FREE without stating you have to buy something first.”

 The rep starts to crumble: “Sir… I… I” And Roger delivers the finishing blow: “I think the Attorney General, Consumer Affairs, and my lawyer will be very interested in my complaint.” 

And he hangs up. He had zero intention of calling anyone and reporting this. He was simply being… Roger. But what happened next, we did not expect!

 The following Sunday, the ad returned in the same newspaper,

BUT THIS TIME it said:

“Free fireplace with purchase of insert.”

BOOM — And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Roger earned his title: “The Scam Slayer”

The Takeaway

Even during dinner or a relaxing Sunday morning, Roger will absolutely waste a scammer’s time like it’s his patriotic duty. And honestly? We should all aspire to that level of calm, strategic chaos.

Scam Meteor Reading	Microsoft Scammer	Amish Fireplace Ad Dept.
Category	Score	Score
Confidence Level	10/10 — Came in bold, left spiritually defeated.	8/10 — Confident until Roger invoked the Attorney General.
Roger’s Patience	9/10 — Finished dinner before ending a man’s career.	10/10 — Read the whole ad, found the loophole, dialed with purpose.
Opponent’s Will to Live	3/10 — Declined rapidly after “What’s your Microsoft ID?”	4/10 — Wavered at “I’ll take my free cabinet.” Flatlined at “my lawyer.”
Comedy Value	9.5/10 — Better than anything on TV that night.	9/10 — The ad rewrite alone deserves an Emmy.
Actual Crime Committed	0/10 — Just serving justice with a side of mashed potatoes.	0/10 — Exposing marketing nonsense is a public service.
Impact on the World	7/10 — One scammer reconsidered his life choices.	12/10 — A national ad literally changed because of Roger.
Likelihood They’ll Call Back	0/10 — He blocked you.	0/10 — Legal said “never speak to that man again.”
Roger’s Savage Delivery	11/10 — “What’s your Microsoft ID?” should be framed.	13/10 — “Attorney General” was the verbal equivalent of a mic drop.
Scam Defense System Rating	10/10 — Powered by: Roger the Scam Slayer.	10/10 — Now with added Amish‑proofing.

 

Geppetto: The Bensonhurst Steak Bandit

This true and funny story sits on the tail end of last week's cat story (pun intended) ...

When I lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, I had another cat named Geppetto — a cat who, in hindsight, probably should’ve come with a warning label. He wasn’t just mischievous. He wasn’t just bold. He was a four‑legged outlaw with a taste for high‑quality beef.

One afternoon, I came home from the supermarket with my kids. I’m pushing the baby carriage, juggling bags, keys, and whatever chaos the day had already thrown at me. As I get closer to my house, I see my landlord and friend, Frank, sitting on the front steps.

I greet him all cheerful: “Hi Frank, how are you!”

He looks at me with the face of a man who has witnessed a crime.

“Oh Michele… you don’t want to know.”

That’s when my stomach dropped. Because in Brooklyn, that sentence means something has gone terribly wrong.

I ask him what happened. He sighs and says he just had an argument with the neighbor down the street — because apparently, my cat Geppetto stole a London Broil steak right off the guy’s BBQ while it was cooking.

I blinked at him.

“Are you sure it was my cat?”

Frank didn’t even hesitate.

“Michele… Geppetto was running down the street toward me, end of steak in his mouth, dragging it under him as he was running all lopsided. And the owner of the steak was chasing him!”

I mean… picture that.

A cat sprinting full‑speed up the block, dragging a London Broil like a lion hauling a wildebeest across the Serengeti.

Behind him, a grown man running after his dinner, yelling like he’s in a hostage negotiation.

And at the finish line?

Frank.

Just sitting there.

Watching the world burn.

Geppetto didn’t slow down. He didn’t look back. He didn’t feel shame.

He ran straight toward our front steps like he was bringing home a trophy from the neighborhood Olympics.

Then in a move worthy of an action movie — he dove under the car parked in front of the house, steak and all. The neighbor is bent over, yelling under the car. Frank is sitting there like, “Why is this my problem?”

Eventually Geppetto crawls out, the neighbor retrieves his now‑violated steak (why he wanted it back is a mystery for the ages), and Geppetto bolts into our backyard like a fugitive returning to his safehouse.

I stood there in total shock, holding my groceries, thinking:

“My cat committed a felony.”

But honestly? It tracks. Between my other cat, Shadow the bar‑crasher, and Geppetto the steak thief, my cats weren’t pets — they were Brooklyn legends.

The Takeaway

Some pets behave. Some pets listen. And then there are the pets who live like they’re starring in their own crime drama. Geppetto reminded me that life is funnier, wilder, and far more memorable when you’re raising creatures who refuse to follow the script. Sometimes the best stories come from the pets who cause the biggest headaches.

Geppetto the Steak Bandit Meteor Scoring Table

Category                            Score                                                     Notes

Steak‑Heist Skills          10/10     Pulled a London Broil extraction in broad daylight.

Speed & Agility               9/10     Outran a grown man while dragging dinner.

Neighborhood Chaos     10/10     Caused a full‑block chase scene.

Frank’s Trauma                8/10      Sat front‑row for the crime of the century.

Geppetto’s Remorse         0/10      Absolutely none. Slept like a king afterward.

Owner’s Shock Level       9/10    "Are you sure it was my cat?” Yes. Yes, it was.

Legend Status                 10/10    Remembered as the Bensonhurst Steak Bandit.