TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION by Nancy L. Eady

The challenge a mystery writer (or any writer) faces is to tell a believable story from the writer’s imagination.  Real life, however, is much different. Here, we face outlandish situations people have difficulty believing are real. I have several of those in my past; as I relate them, ask yourself if you would believe these stories if they were in a work of fiction. I do promise you they are 100% true.

Back in the early 1990s, my husband and I visited Boston in June to attend my great-aunt’s 90^th birthday party. We flew in from Alabama and rented a car at the airport. We ended up with a neon green Kia Sportage, an early SUV with a high, boxy profile. On Sunday, with the party over we headed to the airport. Since we had some time to kill, and Mark had never seen Boston, we drove around the city. When we spied a narrow alley with an interesting graveyard, we turned into the alley. Suddenly, a twenty-piece marching band, complete with trumpets, trombones, woodwinds, and drums, swung out of the graveyard in front of us. Someone at the end of the band swung the gate shut. The alley was too narrow to turn around in, so we trailed behind the band like the grand marshals in a parade. A homeless man, a bottle shaped paper bag in his hand, walked out in front of the band and marched in front, waving one of the best parade waves I’ve ever seen. At the end of the alley, we came out on a major thoroughfare crowded with tourists. A police officer stood at the intersection to direct traffic. The homeless man wandered away, the band reached the street, and the police officer’s eyes met ours With a quirky smile, and a look that said, “Tourists!”, he raised his hands like he was parting the Red Sea and urged the band to either side of the roadway. He waved us through the band and off the parade route. Once we were safely on the way to the airport, Mark pulled over so we could finish laughing, too.

Then there was the time we took our first dog, Shadow, to the local football field. She had never run loose before. It was completely fenced in, so we didn’t have to worry about losing her. We all enjoyed it, but finally it was time to go. Mark started calling Shadow to him. He was walking straight at her, and she knew if she didn’t obey, she’d be in trouble. She started turning her head around to look everywhere but straight in front of her, saying through her actions, “I hear you, but I can’t see you.” It didn’t win her any more time at the ball field, but it was a clever try.

Fast forward to the last Bouchercon that was held in New Orleans. It was my first Bouchercon, and I was excited to be there, while my husband tagged along because he liked New Orleans. While I attended the various Bouchercon meetings, he drove around sight-seeing and ended up at the Metairie cemetery, where he met Lewis, the resident backhoe operator there. Lewis gave him a free tour of the cemetery, letting Mark ride the backhoe with him and showing him where all the “famous” graves were.

So, what’s your verdict? Are those incidents stranger than fiction, or would you believe them if they occurred in a book?