a pleasant memory of riding in cars
taking us to places so near and so far
looking out the windows in amazement and wonder
as we pass all the sights that make our minds ponder
the freeways, the streets, the canyons, and alleys
rolling along at great speeds and right through the valleys
through the window you see, a whole different world
as the wheels roll along and the sights are unfurled...

Brian Hill - 2020 # 298

I made my way
finally
to Point Pleasant
I crossed the Silver Bridge
and walked the blood soaked fields
where the Battle of Kanawha took place
I walked the streets and absorbed the energy
that hovered like unseen clouds
I approached an older woman walking her dog. She was very sweet and made me think of my Mom, God rest her soul. I knew there would be no harsh words or anger from this gentle lady.
I asked her with a friendly smile if she had a story of the Mothman she might share.
'Not the Mothman, she said...but I do have a story.
One from childhood that I've yet to tell anyone, not even my parents. I was maybe 11 or 12 and walking home after playing and it was getting late. I caught something out of the corner of my eye. When I looked, I saw a large plane losing altitude. It just came closer and closer until it leveled out and passed by very close. So close that I could see the passengers in their seats looking straight ahead, silhouetted against the light behind them. I could see their faces. It went by and then gained altitude again. The strangest thing is that I never heard a sound.
I'm not sure why I told you that story. I always felt that people would think I'm crazy. I suppose I can see that you are truly interested. So there you have it.'

I saw the museum, the ammo bunkers and TNT plant and went back to the hotel. I awoke the next morning to find two odd looking drops of blood on my pillow...still fresh. It startled me and I got up to see if it may have come from my ear. As I headed to the bathroom, I noticed more blood on the foot of the bed. In the bathroom there were 2 spots of fresh blood on the floor. I checked the mirror and found no blood in my ears. No nicks from shaving. No nicks on my arms, shoulders, neck or head. I have no idea whatsoever where that blood originated. And here's what really spooked me. They look like 2 very strange faces.

There were no phone calls from Indrid Cold. No prophecies of planes crashing or bridges collapsing, but I left Point Pleasant, West Virginia with a distinct and clear sense that I had tapped into an energy, peeked behind the curtain of Oz and maybe, just maybe I got their attention.

open window
i listen to bird
warm pleasant air

I am not sad
I am not sad
I am not sad
The darkness keeps
Eating away at the remnants
Of the pleasant facade
That I built for myself
But I am not sad
Until I am returned to
The Earth from which
I was born
I will refuse to make
The inconvenience
Of my sadness drag
Me into a pit of darkness
I am not sad
I am not sad
I am not sad
I am not
sad

the horses are still beside the hill
the hotel still has a neon sign
that’s pleasant as the wild way he would
say it as it is