Strange Days

This posting has nothing to do with Jim Morrison or the Doors.

A few nights ago while I was on my way to a girl friends house, I made a wrong turn and had to make a U-turn to get back on the right path. It was dark outside and I was stopped by a man standing in the middle of the road that appeared to be a police officer, but all I could see was his blinding flash light and his hand motion to turn into a parking lot. I pulled into the parking lot which was pitch black, there were no lights lit, and parked into a parking space. The only thing I could see in this lot were a few other parked cars, people in yellow jackets, and a small SUV.

At that point, one of the many people in yellow jackets came up to my window and asked me if I wanted to take a voluntary survey. They did not say who they were or what the survey was for. They told me they would pay me $65 if I took the survey, but then they added that I would have to take a breathalyzer test as well. It all seemed very strange and I had no idea what the hell was actually going on. The whole situation did not feel right to me. I told them that I had to be somewhere and that I was in a hurry and did not have time to do this. After I said that, the woman in the yellow jacket decided to call her boss. Then a man in a yellow jacket came up to the window and adds more absurd requests. His exact words were "Hey fella, you seem like a pretty healthy guy, listen...we'll give you $15 just for taking the test. Then take the breathalyzer...and after that we're going to need a little bit of blood."

I took one look at that small SUV, which was where they were supposedly collecting blood and running all these tests without identifying themselves at all. They did not say what any of this stuff was for. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember if the man in the middle of the street was actually a police officer or not. My immediate thought was "you guys are fucking crazy!...I'm leaving right now!". I told them that I had to leave right then. They tried to raise to price all of a sudden, but at that point I had heard enough bullshit. I cranked up the Zeppelin IV, put the pedal to the metal, and I was out of there.

Strange days have arrived. Dark lot, blood collecting nut jobs. Now is that some crazy shit or what?