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kurty[B] · 02-15-2005, 08:22 AM

This has nothing to do with any sort of health benefits of cigarette smoking. It's simply about the events of last night.

I got home from work to find rose petals strewn all about my walkway to the door, and my girlfriend inside cooking. After our meal, and a shower together she went outside for a cigarette. I was inside doing the dishes, and stepped out to bring her some wine, and she looks distraught.

"Some guy just walked up the alleyway, stood in front of that storage unit door, and then just walked in and shut the door behind him". The storage units are about 4x3 ft, and I could see how if someone without shelter found one open would use it as a little place to stay. That storage unit happened to be next to mine.

We went through our initial thoughts about what he could be doing; just a place to stay sheltered from the elements, planning to break into someones place... I checked the apartment that that unit belongs to, nope, no one has lived there for a few months. I tried finding the emergency number for the apartment company, I'm so disorganized I gave up on that. I tried waking one of the neighbors who seems to know everyone who lives there. She's a little old lady who was already out cold for the night.

So, I go inside my apartment and find a dense blunt object, planning to go knock on the door, and ask what the person is up to, but not sure what to expect, because the description my girlfriend gave me was he was tall, and thin, and had a huge backpack on, but she could not see much else, because he was in the shadows.

Here I am, approaching this storage unit wondering what to expect, and my girlfriend asks me what the hell I'm doing? I tell her my plan of attempting to talk with the person, and hoping everything goes peacably, but that if he tries anything I'll be ready to bash his head end with the butt end of my gerber ax (the only thing aside from a frying pan I could find in my apartment). My girlfriend talks some sense into me, and I decide to call the Police. I did not particularly want to, what if the guy was just tired and homeless, and he happened to come across an unlocked storage door, and decided to make it his temporary shelter for the time being. He may not have had a single bad intention, and maybe just knocking on the door, and asking him what he was doing he would politely apologize and move on, maybe offer me some of his liquor and try and follow me into my apartment like other homeless people have. Then, there was that curiousity, of what if he was confused also, and ready to attack anyone who came to the door, thinking they were going to take him away??

A policeman showed up, and I pointed out which door the man had gone in, and was told to go inside. I went back to doing dishes, with my front door open so I could look over my shoulder and kind of see what was going on in the shadows. I hear another two units pull into the alleyway, and then hear them banging on the storage door, and I shudder (I really dislike that "policeman bang"). They yell for the man to unlock the door and come out, and that they are bring the dogs, and that he has two options, come out right then, and he will not get hurt, or force them to come in, and get bit. A few minutes later I hear the dog barking, and the same question. I then hear demands for hands in the air, and then see some shuffling of the shadows in the dark, and a little more yelling. An officer comes to my door a few minutes later and asks if there is an emergency contact number for the apartment complex, and I explain I already tried looking for it, but that there is a for rent sign out front, and if he called the number on it they might have an emergency number (realizing I should have thought to look at that number long before thinking to approach the door with a weapon in hand).

The two units in the alleyway left, and the other stuck around for about another hour, and I did not hear from another officer, or person that night. I guess if I want to know more about the incident I will have to ask the management company of the property what happened (I'm sure it will make the next month's newsletter). Part of me feels bad, part of me feels relieved. Although I dislike smoking, I am glad my girlfriend happened to be outside with a cigarette to see that man enter the storage unit.

02-15-2005, 08:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
kurty[B] Sauce Puppet	The Benefits of Smoking This has nothing to do with any sort of health benefits of cigarette smoking. It's simply about the events of last night. I got home from work to find rose petals strewn all about my walkway to the door, and my girlfriend inside cooking. After our meal, and a shower together she went outside for a cigarette. I was inside doing the dishes, and stepped out to bring her some wine, and she looks distraught. "Some guy just walked up the alleyway, stood in front of that storage unit door, and then just walked in and shut the door behind him". The storage units are about 4x3 ft, and I could see how if someone without shelter found one open would use it as a little place to stay. That storage unit happened to be next to mine. We went through our initial thoughts about what he could be doing; just a place to stay sheltered from the elements, planning to break into someones place... I checked the apartment that that unit belongs to, nope, no one has lived there for a few months. I tried finding the emergency number for the apartment company, I'm so disorganized I gave up on that. I tried waking one of the neighbors who seems to know everyone who lives there. She's a little old lady who was already out cold for the night. So, I go inside my apartment and find a dense blunt object, planning to go knock on the door, and ask what the person is up to, but not sure what to expect, because the description my girlfriend gave me was he was tall, and thin, and had a huge backpack on, but she could not see much else, because he was in the shadows. Here I am, approaching this storage unit wondering what to expect, and my girlfriend asks me what the hell I'm doing? I tell her my plan of attempting to talk with the person, and hoping everything goes peacably, but that if he tries anything I'll be ready to bash his head end with the butt end of my gerber ax (the only thing aside from a frying pan I could find in my apartment). My girlfriend talks some sense into me, and I decide to call the Police. I did not particularly want to, what if the guy was just tired and homeless, and he happened to come across an unlocked storage door, and decided to make it his temporary shelter for the time being. He may not have had a single bad intention, and maybe just knocking on the door, and asking him what he was doing he would politely apologize and move on, maybe offer me some of his liquor and try and follow me into my apartment like other homeless people have. Then, there was that curiousity, of what if he was confused also, and ready to attack anyone who came to the door, thinking they were going to take him away?? A policeman showed up, and I pointed out which door the man had gone in, and was told to go inside. I went back to doing dishes, with my front door open so I could look over my shoulder and kind of see what was going on in the shadows. I hear another two units pull into the alleyway, and then hear them banging on the storage door, and I shudder (I really dislike that "policeman bang"). They yell for the man to unlock the door and come out, and that they are bring the dogs, and that he has two options, come out right then, and he will not get hurt, or force them to come in, and get bit. A few minutes later I hear the dog barking, and the same question. I then hear demands for hands in the air, and then see some shuffling of the shadows in the dark, and a little more yelling. An officer comes to my door a few minutes later and asks if there is an emergency contact number for the apartment complex, and I explain I already tried looking for it, but that there is a for rent sign out front, and if he called the number on it they might have an emergency number (realizing I should have thought to look at that number long before thinking to approach the door with a weapon in hand). The two units in the alleyway left, and the other stuck around for about another hour, and I did not hear from another officer, or person that night. I guess if I want to know more about the incident I will have to ask the management company of the property what happened (I'm sure it will make the next month's newsletter). Part of me feels bad, part of me feels relieved. Although I dislike smoking, I am glad my girlfriend happened to be outside with a cigarette to see that man enter the storage unit.