The Fourth Kind

This weekend I watched The Fourth Kind twice in a row. I'm a closet sci-fi junkie and will, quite frankly, watch anything that is creatively out-there.

Hmmm. I'm not sure what to make of it. But it did make me remember a soccer game.

I was sitting on the sidelines of my daughter's soccer practice. She was goalie for a team headed to state. I was on a chair next to a very nice woman who had a daughter that played forward on the same team. The woman was a bit older than me - at previous practices we (she) had discussed the advantages and disadvantages of hormone replacement therapy. And definitely more worldly than me. I had spent most of my adulthood living in the wilds of Wyoming. She had recently moved to an Idaho border town from the East Coast. She was a vegan, if I remember right, and wore the most amazing and stylish cotton outfits - well stylish for Wyoming anyway.

On this particular day the sun was shining and the wind only blowing lightly. I was bundled up in a thick sweatshirt while she sat beside me in a blue cotton jacket, her long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"I just finished reading a book," she told me. I wish I could remember the name. I know she told me. "About UFO's and Aliens," she continued. "Do you believe in life on other planets?"

As a sci-fi enthusiast, I responded, "Well, if there's not, it would sure be a waste of space." Pun intended.

She turned to me. Her face grim and determined and her blue eyes bore into mine. "I believe in life on other planets too." Way too serious here.

I gulped unable to turn away from her intense gaze.

"Only I don't think the beings that are out there are friendly like E.T. or Alf. In fact, I think some are capable of unspeakable acts." Her face was pinched and her voice sounded strained.

Whoa! I remember the moment was interrupted by a goal, but I thought about her comments for days after. And now here I am again, remembering her and wondering if she had more to say.