Thursday, December 01, 2005

Elementary homelessness, my dear Watson?

Om, yeah.....I'm posting again 10 hours later.....

The night before last, as I drove into our yard about midnight, my lights shone on the car across the street. There was a guy messing with the tire, like removing it, ya know, with a jack and a tire iron. This car of our neighbor's is quite dented, and they don't seem to use it. And I'm like, "Does this young black man live next door to these people? What's going on?" As I walked into my house, I looked back at him, wondering if I was looking at a tire thief. He was looking at me, too, but then he disappeared. And the tire remained. (And this morning, there is still a tire on that spot, plus one resting on it....?!?!)
Last night, I turned out the lights and headed upstairs to bed at 1:00. And then the next door neighbor's 2 dogs started barking their heads off. They do this from time to time, and being the suspicious night owl that I am, I like to peek out the windows and see if there are any scary dark figures about, causing the dogs to raise an uproar. Well, this guy, I assume, had been waiting for me to put the lights out. I was looking out the front room, and I saw this strange blue light flash onto the front porch ceiling. When I was upstairs "gone to bed" as far as he was concerned, but still peeking, he goes to work on the tire again. I see him use a flashlight, which, before he leaves, switches to a blue light. And the dogs are still barking, and I'm uneasy and feeling very Nancy Drewish. One of the dogs decides to bark in its back yard toward the alley. Apparently, its owners are gone or dead asleep. And they don't have their new shed light on, helping to illuminate the dark back corner of their yard. So, I'm staring into the alley from the laundry room, fully expecting this guy to show up as the cause of the dogs' unease. And my attention is drawn to the dark axle area of this large camper vehicle, parked in the neighbor's yard directly in back of our house across the alley. I stare at this little pin light until my eyes see stars. Surely, that's that guy's blue flashlight, isn't it? I watch for the longest time, and the light moves very slowly, and it looks like someone has a flashlight in their teeth, and they're removing a tire. This is all under the camper. (Can you remove a tire from under a vehicle on the inside?) I stare, wonder, think, fear, pray, and finally call 911. I think that's the first time I have called them. It's 2:something in the morning, my feet are bare and ice cold standing still on the lineoleum of the detached laundry room. The guy on the line hears my story through chattering teeth and tired mind. Within a few minutes, two policemen on foot show up in the alley with their flashlights. Yay! They shine their lights here and there, talk to me, and!!!!!!!! "Don't see anything." They leave, and from my post, I STILL see the stupid light. They shut my back gate for me, though. It had been open(chain link), and so was the shed. But I was too scared to shut either. They certainly didn't spend too much thorough time shining their light under the camper....and even made a comment about how it was probably a homeless person trying to keep warm! I watched a few more minutes after they left, prayed for safety for the umpteenth time, and wearily went to bed at 2:45. It was a few minutes before I could sleep. Not really a satisfying conclusion to my "mystery"! This morning, I looked under the camper, and I saw a tarp under there. It was wedged under at least the tire I had watched, and their was a small mattress with a clean sheet on top.....nothing else...no tire iron, flash light...but the tarp was kind of raised near that tire, and the dirt underneath was disturbed, like this person may have hidden partially under the tarp and maybe a coat or blanket when the cops shone their lights. Argh! What's a girl to do?!

4 comments:

Booker said...

I recommend buying a shotgun and next time this type of situation arises, just run outside, shoot the gun in the air and start screaming and hollering!

then the word about the crazy lady will spread and no suspicious people will hang out there, ever! :)

is that a good solution or what? Sometimes you just have to think outside the box...

Loreo said...

I really love that idea!!! That's what I secretly wanted to do!!! :)

Claire said...

That is super creepy! You were brave to call 911- I would have gone to bed and worried about it all night, not able to sleep, with one ear out to try to hear any strange noises...

Anonymous said...

I can just picture you. How scarey! Keep us posted on what happens!