Well, I don’t really think this is a chronicling of a mental illness episode like previous entries have been. I really do think it’s unusual. But, let’s get to the telling.
There’s this Helicopter. Every month or so, it starts flying in circles over our neighborhood. It does so for about 15 to 30 minutes, just circling over and over again. I can’t figure out what the point of it is. It’s all white, and I assume it’s a Police Helicopter, but what exactly is the point? The epicenter of the circling is just behind our Townhouse, over a predominantly poor neighborhood.
The first time it happened, I thought perhaps there was a criminal on the run from Law Enforcement. It was after dusk. This suspicion seemed to be confirmed when I saw flashlights waving around in the property just behind ours. Then it happened again, and I thought perhaps they were monitoring “known” marijuana-growing locations. Then it happened a couple more times, and I just couldn’t figure it out at all. Surely somebody doesn’t escape to that neighborhood every month! Surely there’s no point in checking for drugs that frequently! What’s the deal?
I talked to my neighbor (the cool neighbor, his name is Dan) about it and he said the Helicopter thing has been going on ever since he moved in, about two years ago. He said one time he awoke to floodlights shining in his bedroom window, went outside, and found cops with flashlights and K-9 units searching the tiny yard behind us. That lends credence to either theory: drugs or escaped criminals. But I just don’t know. It seems awful frequent, and regular, to be either of those things. He admitted he had no clue himself.
I guess the next part is a little mentally ill. I began to think that perhaps the Helicopters were circling as part of a monitoring program against me. After all, though the circling wasn’t directly overhead, it was very close. I mentioned this to my neighbor and he joked, “You never know, maybe they are after you.” But the fact that it’s been going on for two years doesn’t support that humorous suggestion.
Somebody suggested that perhaps the circling is some part of Training Exercise. (I think it was Jacqueline, when I was on the phone with her while the ‘Copter was overhead.) No matter what the purpose is, it seems to be a huge waste of fuel, time, money, and manpower. It doesn’t always happen at night, sometimes it’s during the afternoon or evening, but it never seems to take place at morning or mid-day. I just don’t know. I wish there were some public service number I could call to find out what the hell it’s all about. One thing, though, I’m rational enough to assume that it’s nothing too serious.