One of the closest calls yet….



Our deliveries are made between 10pm and midnight; normally, we’re not very close to 10pm, but tonight was different… I was flying solo AND managed to arrive right at the start of our delivery window!
I parked 1 house down as usual, in front of their next door neighbor with their garage door open, lights blazing…it appeared they were cooking a midnight snack in there! I paid them no attention, started unloading and began walking toward the recipients’ house with the message board disassembled and tucked under either arm…. as I walked onto their grass, I caught a glimpse of a man in the window! I turn quickly on my heels; unsure if he saw me too, I leaned the boards against the flockermobile’s open side door and call my partner in crime (who is safely out of town).
Nervously waiting, giving a running commentary of the happenings, discreetly hidden behind a tree in the flockermobile…. the light in the window of the recipients’ house goes dark, I see a shadow going down the stairs, and assume they must be locking the car in the driveway as I see the lights blip. I plan to wait 10 more minutes for the house to be locked up for the night, and then commence flocking!
When a woman walks out the front door, purse in tow… oh no, they had been UN-locking the car! It’s obvious she’s going somewhere as she starts the car!
The flockermobile’s side door is wide open; the message boards are leaning against the side! I quickly jump from the car, throw the boards in, slide the door shut, and jump back in my hiding spot in the drivers seat... when the man appears and gets into the car!
I quickly crunched as far onto the floor boards under the steering wheel as humanly possible so I wasn’t spotted!
The car pulled out toward my hiding spot, as the headlights cleared the corner…I jumped from the flockermobile! Unloaded the board, tombstones…. and managed to set up in 5 minutes flat! Placing the goodie bag on the front door and snapping a picture, I bolted for the flockermobile and got the flock outta there!
It will be quite a surprise when they return from the store with their gallon of milk!

Night time bandits busted!

We arrived for the first delivery of the night, around 11:30PM, approximately 85 miles from home base (yes, one way). The victim lived on a semi-busy street in an unfamiliar neighborhood; we parked on the street and without a second thought, unloaded the Yard Card and quickly began to set up. We were in our flocking groove, with 50 pink flamingos partially set up when the police car appeared and the lights began flashing. My partner in crime was near the van in the street and I was in the yard... I began sprinting toward the lights with a flamingo in hand yelling, please turn off the lights!!! We explained that we were setting up a surprise display for a 50th birthday and he was fabulous! He said he'd pull back a bit and wait so the flocker-mobile wasn't hit by traffic.
A few minutes later, he turned his lights back on! The street was busier than we realized and cars continued to stop behind the officer because he only had his hazard lights on. Not sure if they thought he needed help or if they were afraid to go around the cop broken down! He had to turn the flashers on 3-5 more times as we set up the display! Very nerve racking as we normally tip toe through the lawn. Happily, the homeowners weren't aware.... and, our officer friend let us snap a shot of him to share on our site, as he assisted us in the perfect crime. Another successful smile...