On the return journey from Roswell, I saw in the far distance on a long stretch of two-way road, a cluster of orange flashing lights. Once I’d closed the gap it turned out to be, no, not a UFO, but a complete single-story home loaded onto the back of a truck. Its width took up the whole right-hand lane, a piece of nearside verge and straddled the central yellow lines by two feet or so. There was a pick-up riding point and another riding shotgun to the rear, this one hugging the centre of the road to discourage reckless overtaking. Not everyone was deterred.
I was amazed to see a couple of cars, followed by a big truck for mercy’s sake, pull out blind into the oncoming lane and overtake. I waited on baited breath for the crunch of crushing metal. By some miracle, there was none. This gamble by those in obvious possession of a death wish was enough to scare the rest of us into staying in line.
A few miles on, at the bottom of a bendy hill, the truck and its outriders pulled off the road to let us pass. In my place towards the back of the queue, there were only a couple of vehicles behind me, those in front already pulling away with their superior horsepower. Before too long my rear-view mirror was empty. I settled in to the leisurely pace to which I had become accustomed in my plodding Nissan.
The miles rolled by and still nothing appeared on the road behind. Ten miles came and went. Nothing. Another five. Still nothing. Then, just four miles from San Patricio, an ambulance, siren screaming, lights flashing, flew past in the opposite direction . Seconds later, a police car followed. With the sound of sirens fading, in came the thought that the convoy had set off once more and someone new had been tempted to risk all by playing the Ace of Spades.
I reached my turning with an empty road in the mirror. Once on the dirt track I pulled up and waited. Five minutes later nothing had passed by in a westerly direction. I started the engine and drifted down the hill to the cottage in the trees, thinking the worst.
Later, triggered by a flash of sunlight through a window, I looked outside. There, across the meadows was a rainbow, arching across a darkening sky. I picked up the camera and slammed through the screen door, knowing the moment wouldn’t last. I managed three shots and it was gone, the sky turning back to black. All around, there was silence.
