When I am really tired and sleep comes easy, I sleep like a dead person. I’ll sleep through alarm clocks, phones ringing, people talking to me, cats walking on me, terrible storms, Lin watching movies too loudly, and all manner of loud environmental sounds within and without the house. Truly, I am a deep sleeper, particularly during the first few hours of sleep. Last night, I discovered at least one thing that will wake me up from a dead sleep: gun fire.

A lot of people jump at the sound of firecrackers, automobile backfires or other loud popping sounds, mistaking them for a gun going off, but anyone who has been around guns a great deal and had experiences with guns can recognize what to them is a familiar sound and rhythm. Gunfire doesn’t sound like anything else, and the closer it is, the more distinctive it is. And while I single bullet being shot can be mistaken for other things, or rationalized away as something else, a series of six in short succession … pop, pop, pop, pop [pause] pop, pop … is hard to mistake for something else or rationalize away, particularly when it is very near the listener. Even when that listener is asleep.

By the second “pop” I was wide awake, heart pounding, and on the floor by the bed. I’m sure cats flew everywhere during that maneuver, but I didn’t notice. My brain heard that first “pop” and it knew full well what it was and that it was close. Of course even as the popping continued, I tried to convince myself I had freaked out for nothing, but by the time all six pops had sounded, very quickly I might add, rationalizing wasn’t going to work. I was wide awake and there was no mistaking it for something else. Firecrackers, backfires, and other popping noises don’t pump me so full of adrenalin that I feel I could run a marathon without getting winded. I was wired. My heart hasn’t pumped like that in ages.

So, what to do? I got back on the bed and peeked out the window. Everything seemed so quiet and normal for our neighborhood at 1 am. I spent a few more minutes trying to rationalize it away, and then I called the cops. I hadn’t been the first. Others, likely still awake, hadn’t had to convince themselves they hadn’t been dreaming or misheard it and called before me. As I hung up the phone, I heard sirens approaching and then go quiet. Then I saw the flashing lights coming down our street.

From my vantage point, I couldn’t see much thanks to the Insane Neighbors’ stupid camping trailer parked in their driveway. I could see a collection of police cars a few houses down, and occasionally I would see dark figures moving in the flashing lights, but I couldn’t tell which house they were at. It was either Motorcycle Man’s house or the one beyond his. It was too dark, too gloomy, the flashing lights made it impossible to really see what was going on, and that damn camper was completely blocking my view. I thought about going outside to look, but in order to see anything, I’d have had to step all the way out to the street or stand in the Insane Neighbors’ driveway. Seeing as I knew there was someone nearby who had a gun and had already used it once (and wasn’t a police officer), I decided that standing around outside in my pajamas was a dumb idea.

I was still wired, freaked out, and not wanting to be alone in my adrenalin rush, I went to the living room where Lin had apparently fallen asleep watching a movie. He was still asleep. He quite literally can sleep through anything … including his wife shaking him and telling him that shots had been fired on our street and now there are cops all over the place. Yes, he woke up long enough to say “So? Shots are fired in lots of neighborhoods.” Then he stumbled to bed and fell back into slumber. I don’t actually think he was awake even when he was talking to me.

On a side note: one of the things that totally annoys me about Lin is his inability to realize I am freaked out about something and at least offer some comfort. It isn’t only a problem when he is sleeping either. The man lacks both adrenalin and his empathy skills are weak. Dude, wake up and comfort your wife even if she’s freaking out over nothing! Which I wasn’t!

I went and laid down in bed with him and left the window peeking to the cats. They were all over the windows in the bedroom. I tried picking them up and getting them to lay down on the bed, but like me, they were wide awake, wired, and freaked out … and they wanted to see what was going on. Since I couldn’t see anything but the flashing lights, and I couldn’t hear anything but the occasional male voice saying something loud but indistinguishable, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. That proved difficult with those flashing lights brightening the bedroom windows and the cats pawing at the window blinds to get a better look outside. Lin’s loud snoring didn’t help any either.

At about 2 am, the lights stopped flashing, the cats crawled back onto the bed, and my adrenalin levels dropped. I realized I was tired again and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

I checked the police report web site today, but the weekend reports won’t be listed until sometime tomorrow. I also called the cops, because my curiosity got the better of me. After being transferred to a few different people, I got an answering machine and left a message. Maybe they’ll call back tomorrow. None of the neighbors were around today, or at least none of them were leaving their houses, so … no gossip either. There wasn’t anything in the local news either, and most of the local news stations jump at anything like gunfire in this part of town. I guess I’ll just have to be patient to find out what the hell happened. You know me though, I am not at all patient.

No matter what, I hope that never happens again. It’s not a very pleasant way to wake up, and I’ve lived in neighborhoods where gunfire was a regular occurrence, and it’s no way to live. We aren’t renters anymore, so it isn’t like we can just up and move whenever we feel like it. Not that I want to move (ever). I like it hear, and it’s always been so peaceful, which is why actual gunfire on my street at 1 am was a bit of a shocker.

OK, what’s actually the real shocker is that it wasn’t at the Insane Neighbors’ house. They weren’t home. I heard them drive in and scurry into their house shortly before the cop cars left. If I ever expected to hear gunfire, trust me, that was the house I expected it to come from.