House Jacked!
So for lack of anything interesting to say, I haven't updated the old LJ in QUITE a while... but now I guess I've finally got a story to tell!
So I was sitting on my porch last night in my nice safe neighborhood, when a couple of black dudes came walking around my building. While it's odd to see a brother on my street at 9 at night, I didn't think anything of it being racially cool fellow that I am.
The two guys walked down the sidewalk, stopped a little ways down the street like they didn't know where they were going, then came towards me. "Does Charlie live around here?" said the first guy in a low voice, walking toward me. "Who?" I said. "Does Charlie live here?" asked the first man, now only a few feet away.
(Cha-chak)
The second man, standing behind the first, has cocked a black 9mm behind his back, brought it around, and is holding it a foot from my face.
"Where's the money, man? Let's go inside." says the man with the gun. The first man is still talking about Charlie, not sure what his next line is.
"It's cool guys, let's go inside." I say in a surprisingly calm voice, raising my hands halfway in the air. I turn around to walk inside, for some reason taking the time to put my cigarette in the ashtray.
I open the door and for a second thinking about slamming it, locking it, and hitting the ground, but the two guys are big, cut, and armed. Probably not a good idea.
I walk in. The first man follows me, holding the t-shirt that was on his head like a do-rag around his mouth. The gunman stands at the door. Jenny, my girlfriend, is sitting at her computer, not seeing what's going on.
"Be cool baby, OK? Just be cool." I say, suddenly thinking of Pulp Fiction. I go for my wallet and produce a 20 dollar bill, the only thing I have. The first man takes it and turns to the second.
"Get the purse! Get the purse!" shouts the gunman still at the door. I pick up the purse and open Jenny's billfold. She's stood up, just now realizing what is happening, then sits back down. In here wallet is only a 1 dollar bill with a hole in it.
"How much? How much?" says the gunman? "Just 21 bucks man, that's all we've got." I say, still completely calm like I never thought I would be.
The two men stand at the door for a second milling around. Jenny begins to reach for here cellphone. I'm leaning over the chair she sits in and begin to stop her, but she realizes what she's doing and pulls away.
And then the two men turn, slam the door behind them, and are gone.
I walk over to the door, lock it, and cut the lights out. Jenny's already on the floor dialing 911. The cops arrive within 5 minutes, gaining my respect for the first time in my life. A plain clothes officer directs 5 other officers to search the area and there are cars already checking around nearby. A couple of hours pass and the cops leave just as the CSU guy comes to print the door.
After that it's all locked doors and a sleepless night for Jenny. She cried a couple of times but really took it like a trooper. I was proud of her. We accidentally locked ourselves out while the police were there, and they didn't try to help me crawl through that fucking window, so I did lose an ounce or two of the formerly mentioned respect.
For my part, there wasn't a moment when I felt afraid or anxious or angry or anything for that matter. It upsets me that Jenny doesn't feel safe in our own home now and I'm a little pissed that my last 20 bucks (lunch money until Wednesday) is gone, but other than that it's like it never even happened. Isn't that shit crazy?
I was house-jacked!
So I was sitting on my porch last night in my nice safe neighborhood, when a couple of black dudes came walking around my building. While it's odd to see a brother on my street at 9 at night, I didn't think anything of it being racially cool fellow that I am.
The two guys walked down the sidewalk, stopped a little ways down the street like they didn't know where they were going, then came towards me. "Does Charlie live around here?" said the first guy in a low voice, walking toward me. "Who?" I said. "Does Charlie live here?" asked the first man, now only a few feet away.
(Cha-chak)
The second man, standing behind the first, has cocked a black 9mm behind his back, brought it around, and is holding it a foot from my face.
"Where's the money, man? Let's go inside." says the man with the gun. The first man is still talking about Charlie, not sure what his next line is.
"It's cool guys, let's go inside." I say in a surprisingly calm voice, raising my hands halfway in the air. I turn around to walk inside, for some reason taking the time to put my cigarette in the ashtray.
I open the door and for a second thinking about slamming it, locking it, and hitting the ground, but the two guys are big, cut, and armed. Probably not a good idea.
I walk in. The first man follows me, holding the t-shirt that was on his head like a do-rag around his mouth. The gunman stands at the door. Jenny, my girlfriend, is sitting at her computer, not seeing what's going on.
"Be cool baby, OK? Just be cool." I say, suddenly thinking of Pulp Fiction. I go for my wallet and produce a 20 dollar bill, the only thing I have. The first man takes it and turns to the second.
"Get the purse! Get the purse!" shouts the gunman still at the door. I pick up the purse and open Jenny's billfold. She's stood up, just now realizing what is happening, then sits back down. In here wallet is only a 1 dollar bill with a hole in it.
"How much? How much?" says the gunman? "Just 21 bucks man, that's all we've got." I say, still completely calm like I never thought I would be.
The two men stand at the door for a second milling around. Jenny begins to reach for here cellphone. I'm leaning over the chair she sits in and begin to stop her, but she realizes what she's doing and pulls away.
And then the two men turn, slam the door behind them, and are gone.
I walk over to the door, lock it, and cut the lights out. Jenny's already on the floor dialing 911. The cops arrive within 5 minutes, gaining my respect for the first time in my life. A plain clothes officer directs 5 other officers to search the area and there are cars already checking around nearby. A couple of hours pass and the cops leave just as the CSU guy comes to print the door.
After that it's all locked doors and a sleepless night for Jenny. She cried a couple of times but really took it like a trooper. I was proud of her. We accidentally locked ourselves out while the police were there, and they didn't try to help me crawl through that fucking window, so I did lose an ounce or two of the formerly mentioned respect.
For my part, there wasn't a moment when I felt afraid or anxious or angry or anything for that matter. It upsets me that Jenny doesn't feel safe in our own home now and I'm a little pissed that my last 20 bucks (lunch money until Wednesday) is gone, but other than that it's like it never even happened. Isn't that shit crazy?
I was house-jacked!