The Stranger Things of West Valley

I see a lot of weird things while I'm driving around from day to day, and I realized this week that I need to start writing them down. I'm left to wonder if there are weird things going on in every city on earth or if I just live somewhere special. I also wonder if other people see as many strange things as I do, or if I catch more of it because I'm an observant person

Here are three things I've seen in the past week.

The Motorcycle Mascot

Last weekend, I swear I saw someone in a bear costume driving a motorcycle down 3500 South. I did a double-take and wished I had time to make a u-turn and follow him for further observation (I would do such a thing), but sadly, I needed to sally forth to my destination. 

The more I think about it, the more I believe it looked like Leo the Lion - the mascot for Real Salt Lake. There is no logical reason for Leo the Lion to be driving a motorcycle in that area, but that's what the creature in question resembled. And I confess... until about five minutes ago, I didn't even know that the Real Salt Lake mascot was a lion. It looks like a bear to me! 

Not a bear

And it fits with the Jazz Bear and Grizzbee. To me, all mascots, except Cosmo, are bears.

Anyway, after I got over the initial shock of the sighting, I realized how stinkin' dangerous it would be to drive in a mascot costume. You can't drive in a bear/lion head! So what in the world did I see? 

If I ever witness such a thing again, I will absolutely make it a priority to abandon all other plans and follow the alleged mascot. 

The Broomstick Biker

Another thing I saw recently was a man on a bike with a five-gallon bucket strapped to his back. What was in the bucket? Where was he going? I have so many questions.

But just to make it weirder, there was also something protruding from under the man's bike seat, and the only way I can think to describe it was that it looked like a broom handle, and it stuck out three or four feet.

Inspiration?

The only hypothesis I have is that it was his social distancing stick. No one was coming within six feet of that dangerous set up. That's for sure. 

The Misplaced Spaghetti

The last thing I saw was a car with an open bag of spaghetti noodles sitting on the back bumper. The car was driving down 3500 South (apparently 3500 South is a corridor of weirdness), and every few seconds, a spaghetti noodle would fall on the ground. 

I found this quite amusing and am dying to know the back story. I really wanted to pull up next to them at the intersection and say, "Excuse me! You're losing your spaghetti!" but I never had the chance. 

I just hope their dinner plans weren't foiled!

If these three instances have taught me anything, it's that the world is dangerous in unexpected ways. With bear heads, broomsticks, and flying spaghetti on the loose, you can never be too careful! Be safe out there, folks!