Over the course of this year there have been some crazy things happen in our city. Our team here has seen many weird things happen. From two attempted murders in broad daylight to love triangles gone bad. We’ve also heard that because so many people are migrating to the cities to find work that the crime rate is also rising. Our town isn’t large by any means but because it has some industry those from the countryside are moving here to find work. But personally our family hasn’t really seen much or been effected by it at all. Well, that is until last week.
On a sunny fall day we had just finished eating lunch when the kids asked if they could go back out on the patio to play some more. They had been out there all morning and wanted to continue playing. While me and Veronica sat at the table talking, the kids ran upstairs to the patio. But halfway up the stairs Eben yelled out that he saw two people on our patio. So I darted up the stairs and looked out but upon not seeing anything I questioned Eben if he really did see someone. I could tell though from his face that he really did see someone. Veronica wanted me to still go out and check and so I headed out on the patio. In a corner of the patio I found two young guys hiding.
I asked them what they were doing and when they didn’t answer I told them that they better scat…then lifting my hands to start defending my family. The kids were behind me at the door so I told them to go to their rooms in case a fight broke out. But by the look on the two guy’s faces they’d never seen such a big fat white guys before and I don’t think that they wanted to start a scrap with me. I should’ve grab them and tied them up but instead I told them to climb the wall into and get lost, just wanting my family to be safe. But they were taking their time and so I picked up a broom and started wailing on them, helping them to then quickly scurried up the wall. The problem is that we are on the top floor and our patio is connected to others patios. So these guys were now stuck up on someone else’s patio not being able to return the way they came, via our patio. The big white guy was the only way out and I don’ think they wanted to try that way again. So they climbed over a few patios and were trying to decide what to do next.
But once I got them away from our family, I started calling the complex manager who then called the police. I made my way downstairs to our complex courtyard and waited to see if they would come down. Upon seeing me looking up on the roofs people began asking me what I was doing. When I told them what was going on the entire neighborhood got excited and involved. By the end of it around 50 people had joined me in the search. They gathered a posse and went looking on the other patios for them. After about 20-30 minutes they had found the guys and cornered them on another patio. About that time the police came and went up stairs. About 10 minutes later they came back down with the two guys handcuffed. They paraded them around the complex in order to let those that were considering doing the same to see what would happen if they tried it.
Eben had saved the day! Once everyone heard that it was Eben that had found them and me that cornered them, we became neighborhood legends, urban legends! Ha…Later that afternoon we saw the policeman again and they thanked Eben for doing the right thing and for being a smart boy who knew what to do. So the picture here is Eben and me with the policeman that caught the two rascals. Now we have friends in our precinct office, G does have a sense of humor. All is well and Eben wishes now that I was a policeman too so that I could go around all day and catch bad guys. I guess in a way I am trying to help capture those in darkness and tell them of a pardon waiting for them.
