This is not my story. It was told to me by a co-worker. This really happened to her, and I find it humorous, so I thought I'd relate it. I tell it "in the first person" (as if it happened to me) only for ease of telling. Now, on to the story.
Up until I was 14, I didn't know much about my cousin and his family, as my family did not associate with our relatives too frequently. All I knew was that he was two years older than me, at 16.
But that summer, I was bored and decided to walk the six blocks to visit with my cousin. It would be the beginning of a life-long friendship with him.
When I arrived at their house, I was invited inside and we all sat around the living room. After some routine questions, "How's your mother and father?", I began to feel more comfortable with them.
That's when my uncle asked me "How do you like our new TV? It's got remote control !" I was just about to say how "nice" it was, when he added "And it's haunted !"
I was surprised by this last statement, so to clarify that I'd heard him correctly, I questioned "Haunted?" "Yes!" he said, "Haunted !"
I looked at my aunt and she nodded in agreement. "Haunted", she repeated. I looked at my cousin and he nodded, too. Since I didn't know this family very well, I wasn't sure if they were joking with me.
My uncle explained. "Once in a while, it'll start flipping through channels, all by itself. And sometimes the volume will go up real loud, or down so I can't hear it. Sometimes, it'll just turn itself off!" Again, I looked at my aunt, and she nodded in agreement. My cousin agreed, too.
Well, the conversation turned to other subjects and soon my cousin and I were leaving the house to go to the neighborhood playground.
As we stepped off the front porch, my cousin stopped me. "Wait a sec!", he said, and he turned and reached under the porch. When he brought his hand back out, he pointed it toward the house. He had something in his hand and pushed a button on it.
Suddenly, from within the house, I heard a voice, "Martha ! It's doing it AGAIN !"
I realized what it was in my cousin's hand! It was ANOTHER REMOTE CONTROL !
My cousin replaced the second remote under the porch, then came to me with a smile. "Let's go", he said, and we walked down the street toward the playground. I giggled and laughed all the way.
That day I learned an appreciation for my cousin's twisted sense of humor. We've become the best of friends. We still talk about that day; the day I first knew my cousin.