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(written on September 16, 2010)
A knock on the door.
The man says they have come to
put our windows in.
When we moved into our apartment
back in early May
they said all our windows would be
replaced in about three weeks.
We've learned that three weeks means
three or four months.
A couple of months ago
they came and put in four windows,
but didn't have the other three.
They said it would be about three weeks
until the other three came in.
That was two months ago.
But there they were this morning—
with our windows.
They said it would take about
two hours.
When I left this morning they were
starting their work.
I had decided to get the heck out
of there
away from the noise and all
so I could work on my blog book.
I decided to go to Panera and get
some coffee and a pastry
and write on my netbook.
When I got to Panera I mistakenly
pulled into a parking space at Starbucks
(which would mean that I would have to
walk a ways to get back to
Panera).
As I realized what I had done
I sat there for a moment
before backing out.
I waited a second too long.
A car stopped right behind me
and I couldn't get out.
It looked like an older model car,
maybe an '88 or a '95 (I know nothing
about car models anymore; when I
was a kid I could look at any car
going down the street and tell you
the model and the year; but now I don't
study cars or keep up with them; there are
just too many kinds).
This car was a pale yellow sedan.
A man jumped out of it,
and immediately I saw the badge
and the gun; he was a detective.
He pointed my way,
and suddenly a police car pulled up
beside him
and three more police cars came from
every direction, closing off exits.
Policemen got out of their cars and
began walking toward my car.
I've seen this sort of thing in movies
and TV shows hundreds of times,
but I had never been in the middle of it
before.
I froze.
I put my hands up on the steering wheel
in full sight.
The law men came to the passenger side
of my Saturn.
That's when I realized that they were
after car next to mine.
A man and woman, about 25 years old each,
were sitting in the car to my right.
The police asked them for their ID and told them
to get out of the car.
I noticed that in one of the police cars
there was a woman hand-cuffed in the back seat.
Maybe she snitched on these two.
Anyway, I was prepared to duck down in my
seat if anyone started shooting.
Luckily no one did.
A friendly police officer noticed that I was
blocked in and moved his car so I could leave.
There are truly nice people in this world.
I got out of there
and parked in the Panera lot,
went in and got a nutritious pastry
and some coffee.
When I got home late in the afternoon,
I saw that the men had put two new windows
in our kitchen.
But the one bathroom window had not
been replaced.
I guess two hours means two days?
Anyway, I'm home safe and sound.
I wasn't shot; I have no pain.
Just a few panes short.
