Strange Occurrences at Casa de Kelly

I came home from work yesterday, all excited to be out of the office and about to embark on my regular walk of the loop. It was a beautiful day and I just wanted to get out for an hour and enjoy it after being cooped up in a pod all day. I go through my usual routine--feed the dog, rush upstairs to change. I whip off my shirt and walk into my closet and while I'm standing there with my hanger in one hand, my shirt in the other, I feel this warm rush of air.

Confused, I look around. Where is this heat coming from? Everything in my closet looks the same. I glance up and my mouth drops open. The chute that leads into the attic has been raised up and pushed to the side. I stand there staring at it for a moment, mentally going through the house and any possible way someone could have broken in. Coop comes into the closet, sits down next to me and looks up as well, completely unconcerned.

Okay. Doors are locked and bolted. Doors were locked and bolted when I arrived home. No trails of blood were found from where Coop, the trusty guard dog would have chewed off a limb of an intruder. Good dog. Any open window was high up off the ground and would have required a very huge ladder to access. Surely the neighbors would have noticed this and no screens were pushed in anyway.

I decide to put my shirt back on just in case. I back out of the closet and close the doors, sliding my laundry basket in front of it. I take a quick peek under the bed then call for Coop to follow me in my normal voice. I get down to the kitchen, pick up the portable phone and walk out onto the deck. I call my parents.

"Strange question," I say when my Dad answers the phone. "Were any of you guys up in my attic today?" Not sure why they would be or if either parent could even have fit through the very narrow chute, but hey, you never know.

"Hmm...well I wasn't," Dad says, "But let me check with your mother." (See I told you it wasn't out of the realm of possibility...) He comes back and says no then asks why. I tell him and he puts on his Dad voice. You know the one. The voice that even from the other end of the phone you can just picture them hooking their thumbs in their suspenders and rocking back on their heels, their brow furrowed in serious thought as they are about to level you with their knowledge. Okay...my dad doesn't actually wear suspenders and I'm not sure I've ever seen him rock back on his heels, but you know where I'm going with this.

"Oh, right. Wind. That's what did it. It was really windy last night. I didn't hear it, but Keith said it was somethin' awful. You've got vents in your roof, you know. So the wind when it blows hard can act like a vacuum. Suck that door right up out of the chute."

Now I don't recall any wind last night, and I sure as hell don't remember noticing it when the cops and robbers drama at the end of the street woke me up, but hey, who am I to argue with Dad logic. Besides, it was about the only thing that made sense. Its not like someone could have climbed up into it. I had to set two thick books on the top rung of my ladder just to reach the door to shut it.

So there you have it. Wind tunnels, vacuumed doors and Dad logic. Just another strange day here at Casa de Kelly.