The Alien Among Us

From the backseat where I sat I watched the rain fall outside the car window. It was the first rain I had seen since mid October. The night before I was lying in my hotel bed when the rain first started. It was a welcome sound as it hit my window that shook with the accompanying thunder. I was so pleased with the rain that I got up and watched it for a few minutes before climbing back under the thin covers leaving the floral window curtains open for optimum viewing. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where rain is as plentiful as brick is here in Oklahoma.

It hit me on the car ride road home how addicted I am to the sun. I slept in a bit that morning, had my usual caffeine and even a full breakfast. Yet there I was at ten-something in the morning still feeling like I woke up two minutes ago. I started feeling scared that I have distanced myself from the rain….something I thought I would never do.

To brighten the mood I popped in season one of ALF into my DVD player and invited my fellow passengers to join me in reliving old childhood memories. The memories of watching a little alien living with a family of four as if every family on the neighborhood street had a hairy long-nosed alien living with them. It didn’t seem odd to me growing up, but if that type of show was on TV today I would never give it two minutes. ALF was one of my favorite shows growing up. My fellow passengers laughed at my invitation and told me how odd it was that I Netflixed both season one and two. Asking what I liked about the show I replied that it was ALF’s sarcasm. It was there in that moment that I realized where my sarcasm came from. I am blessed with two incredible parents but they lack the sarcasm that overflows from my being. I’ve wondered before where I picked up this trait while my parents have prayed that I quickly lose it. So I’m here today to proclaim that ALF was a bad influence on me growing up. Mom and Dad, blame it on the oversized static-filled black box that sat on the table across the living room. It was the hairy long-nosed alien we allowed into our house once a week that taught me to be quick on my toes and make everyone around me laugh. It was ALF who taught me sarcasm.

On the drive home the rain stopped shortly after crossing the Oklahoma border. I was blessed with a short rain experience in Dallas this past weekend but came home to the bright sun. My mood perked up with the sun but here I am tonight hoping for a rainy day to come soon. I’m ready to start season two of ALF.