crrreeeeeeepy... and gross!

i got home from work tuesday night at about eleven, and i was talking to my sister on the phone when i got out of my car. as soon as i did, i heard the most terrifying noise... i couldn't figure out what it was or where it was coming from, because it seemed to be coming from all over the place! it was near and then far, and then across the street and it was SO loud! it sounded like deformed duck calls, but they were on the ground and i didn't see anything. i was really creeped out, especially because i just watched a scary zombie movie with mike last weekend, and the noises didn't really sound like the zombies on the movie, but what do i know? it took me forever to get into the house because i kept fumbling with the key, and i fully expected the blood-covered living dead to run up and kill me, but, as you probably expected, i got in fine. that didn't stop me from locking and slamming the door behind me.

so the crisis should have been over, but it wasn't. usually when i come home from work, i find carmelita, steve, jon berg, christian and one or two of his study buddies, and sometimes scuba and corrie hanging out and playing foosball at the house. that night there was no one. the whole house was dark. and it was actually later than i usually get home! my sister was still on the phone, telling me i was dumb, but i was really starting to get scared. i could hear the noises from inside the house too, that's how loud they were. i called carmen, hoping steve was with her. he was, and actually, he answered her phone. well, then i felt stupid, because what was i supposed to say? "there's weird noises outside and i'm all by myself and it's scary!" please.

i tried to play it cool and just ask, "hey, what are you guys up to? and by the way, what the heck is all this noise on the road?" but steve saw right through that. he said, "aww... are you scared?" then he told me what was going on.

they were frogs. really loud, sexually aroused male frogs attracting the females with their huge, throaty mating calls. they were in our road because of all the heavy rain we've been having, because our road floods. and appearently, i'm the only one in town that's never heard it before. good ol'desert upbringing... how embarrassing. but i guess feeling stupid is better than being zombie food.

so that's my story. the next day when i was walking to class, sure enough, there were all kinds of dead frogs all over the place. it's amazing that something so small can be SO loud.