Twister

I know I’m still not very consistent on my blogging, I’m sorry!   It’s definitely not because things haven’t been going on.  We’ve had SO much going on.  I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it.  But, it will be across several blogs… I know the anticipation is killing you.  (:

Rookie has been hard at work back on the streets.  And is doing such a great job  (what?  He is!  I’m not just totally biased).  He works late all the time, which doesn’t really matter since I’m usually asleep when he gets home anyways.  However, the other night; it totally mattered.

After work, I went to visit a friend in another town.   We had dinner, watched a basketball game and then I headed back.  It was a pretty far drive, but I finally made it home.  A lot of people were worried about me making the drive because there was a bad storm on the horizon.  So my phone was blowing up with phone calls (because people know I’m a huge advocate of not texting and driving – it’s dangerous people, don’t do it).  Everyone was like – “how bad is the road?”  Thing was, it wasn’t bad.  Wasn’t bad at all.  In fact, there weren’t even any raindrops.  I was almost convinced everyone was watching the wrong newscast.  Almost.

That’s when I get home, several hours after Rookie’s shift.  I’m expecting him to be waiting for me, but he’s still working-  finishing up a report or something.  I ask him to come home soon and he agrees he’s trying.  I sit down and say hello to little Scout Dog.  What’s that I hear (other than my phone that’s still ringing)?  OMG.  It’s the TORNADO SIRENS.  What’s our plan?  Where should I go?  I freak out.  Side note: I’m born and raised in Tornado Alley.  We do NOT freak out when there is a tornado.  We go outside to see if it’s near our house (call us whatever names you want).  Plus, sirens don’t mean there is a tornado it just means there is a high potential.  I, however, did not make my home state proud; I went a little bit crazy.

My main concern was making sure Scout dog was stored safely.  So, naturally I put down our most padded cover for her to lay on, then I got over her and put a sleeping bag over my back (um, have any of you seen Twister? – It’s a great movie with Bill Paxton, okay maybe great is a stretch, but I love it.  Anyways, do you think a sleeping bag will keep me safe from projectiles?  Not a chance).  I was calling Officer, trying to watch the news on the iPad, trying to wrestle scout to keep her under all of this stuff, it was a mess.  This repeated several times as the sirens kept going on and off, on and off.  I begged Officer to come home immediately; I was in full freak-out mode.  He pretty much drove through the worst part of the storm to make it to me, but by the time he got there, most of it had passed.  (: 

We had many more scares throughout the rest of the season and one that was only a mile away from us!  And needless to say, we now have a plan of action.  And I’ve successfully convinced Officer for my sanity (and his) that we need a storm shelter.  Do any other LEO wives get nervous in bad weather when the hub’s is out?  I’m not sure if I am nervous because I’m home alone, or if I’m nervous because he’s not there and I’m not sure he’s safe.  But, I sure get nervous.

Speaking of being nervous, do you remember my post “Carrying a Pickle”?  Well, I’ve crossed a new line, Officer has bought me my first gun and I took a gun safety class!  I can’t wait to tell you all about it in my next post!  Until then friends, cheers!

Battle of New Orleans

As a lullaby song, my dad used to sing to me Battle of New Orleans. Do you know it? Well, there is a part in there that goes like this: "Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles, And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go. They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em..." I know, I know not exactly your typically lullaby.  But my dad sang me to sleep at night, that counts for a lot in my book. Anyways, that part of the song is what I expected when I called dispatch to tell them my car had been stolen.  But, it doesn't exactly happen like that.

Makes sense to me now that an officer couldn't just run to the last known location of the perp without getting as many details as they could from me first.  Doesn't mean I didn't still want them to.  As I mentioned, Officer was not on duty that day.  But, he came up to my office and worked with the case as much as he could - but, there is also a conflict of interest for him working my case.  He did do as much as he could though. He went to the convenient store where my card had been used, told them to save footage of the day, drove around the area looking for the car, and wrote a supplemental report to the one the officer took from me.  Above and beyond.

A day passed, no car turned up.  Officers squad would take shifts leaving their area and searching where my car was last seen.

A week passed.  No car.

Two weeks passed.  This is when I started to get worried.  What's going to happen when I had a rental car that wasn't on my insurance stolen?  What if it isn't recovered?  Luckily, the rental company was very, very kind and made me feel completely at ease.  They told me they haven't ever not recovered a car (sorry for the double negative).  Maybe it would be months, but they would get it back.  It would just depend on what kind of condition it came back in.  Oh gosh, what condition would it come back in?

Officer was turning in an information report one night whenever her over heard some detectives talking about a case with a similar MO to mine (what's MO mean, anyways?). After chatting with them about my case and learning their suspect, he decided to make a house call.  Or at least drive past (I would say drive-by, but I'm afraid people would get the wrong idea). 

REAL LIFE SUPERHERO.  He found my car in the parking lot of the apartment complex where the suspected perp lived! One thing I failed to mention was that my actual car keys were in the rental car, its a long story as to why they were there, and guess what? Right where I left them.  Same with the umbrella that I had been using in the car!  Officer is about as amazing as they come, in my biased opinion.  (:

Enter, our justice system.  No charges against the perp.  The gas station kept footage from the wrong day, so they were unable to prosecute without that evidence against the fraud and stealing.  No one actually saw the perp take my keys, so they were unable to prosecute against auto theft, as well.  Even though we had several eye witnesses that placed him in our building at that time.  But, I understand that these rules are in place to protect the innocent, but they sure protect the guilty sometimes, too.  Reach out if you would like more info on the nitty-gritty details on why we couldn't prosecute. 

Honestly, being the victim is a lose-lose situation anyways.  They either prosecute the perp, maybe or maybe not recover my losses, and I pay, through my taxes, for him to have 3 squares a day and cable (by the way, we don't even have cable - let me know if you want your taxes to pay for mine ha!). Plus, they get street cred for doing time.  Or they don't have any repercussions and he continues to victimize another day and I'm still out my losses.  Something has to change.  We have to speak up.



I would like to take this moment to thank the officers that worked hard on my case and every other case out there like mine.  The perp has been caught red-handed on other similar charges and will be brought to justice(ish).  I guess, I would also like to take the moment to address all the people who think that officers don't do their job in this situation.  I can see where your feelings come from, but keep in mind all of the red tape that officers have to get through to accomplish one thing. And the fact that without a smoking gun, the justice system doesn't have a leg to stand on.  It's not CSI, people, it's the real world.

The Stars Aligned

Right before Officer and I were married we were working in different states.  Since his job was less conducive for relocating, I moved to him to start our life. This required a job hunt as my previous employer was unable to relocate my position.

One particular interview I had, Officer escorted me to because we had a flight to catch afterwards. He was very unhappy with the location of the offices. To him, the area was one of the worst in our city (second only to his area). However, the interview went wonderful, the people were delightful and I ended up taking the job. He thoroughly lectured me on being safe, not staying after dark, and not being a victim. If that's not asking for it, I'm not sure what is!

Our company is comfortable, kind, and trusting.   We are the "leave-your-door-unlocked" type of people. And in this instance, I mean that literally.  Even though we had key cards for our doors, we left them turned off during working hours.  Anyone could come or go as they please.  It is the mentalilty of "we have nothing to worry about" - But, as you all know, I'm the worst case scenario girl, so I carry mace AND a stun gun every where I go - so maybe I was still worried.  Can't be the victim, right?

Well, the stars finally aligned.  I could probably write three pages about the events leading up to and following that day, but I will try to be concise.

I had been in a minor accident a week before, and although Officer and I debated it, we decided to get the damage fixed (win!).  The repair went long and I ended up with a rental longer than expected.  Then, a department store recently had a big sale and I traded my massive, couldn't-pass-as-a-carry-on purse in for a much smaller, more manageable across-the-body style. This limited my load to my stun gun, sunglasses, small wallet and phone.   Yeah, even my big honkin' key set couldn't fit in there.

It was the day before my birthday which falls in the colder months, but the day looked nice so I opted not to wear a coat, however, once I felt the chilly morning air, I debated to go back in and grab one. Against my better judgement I did not go back...

When I arrived at work, I was so excited to get a closer than normal spot!  I bounced in and hung my purse on my coat hanger. It was something new I had started when I carried the smaller purse because my jacket would hide it (remember how I decided not to wear a jacket that day?).  Then, I commenced to working the day away.  I typically play cards at lunch because Officer isn't one for games, and I need my fix. And the majority of my coworkers stay at their desk for lunch.  It's not looking like a ghost town in our offices people, we have lots of warm bodies all around!   During our game, a coworker stopped by and said someone suspicious had been lurking around and they hid everyone's purses.

I guess I should take a moment for a side note.  I work in a building with a bank at the bottom and several companies, including a temp agency, in the remaining floors.  We see a LOT of foot traffic.  Granted, our company doesn't see many visitors, but we are on the second floor and technically our bathroom is "public" because it is in an atrium shared by the building.

Well, another coworker of mine called during the game and asked me what my purse looked like.  My initial thought was, "gosh, look at all these people looking out for me, she wants to come hide my purse, too". So I gave her a description of it and she said something like, that's what I thought and I'm coming to talk to you.  Lump.

Yes, my purse had been stolen and ditched in the men's bathroom. Luckily, the sweet cleaning lady was going in to clean and saw it in there.  GASP. My sister had graciously just bought me RayBan sunglasses for my birthday.  Are they still there?  Check.  What about my stun gun stocking stuffer from Officer?  Check.  Gosh, all the perp took was my wallet.  And I'm lucky because it was the small one! Minimal damage, easy recovery.  I immediately called and cancelled the cards he had already been using.

A few weeks before, a friend was telling me about how a perp had stolen her wallet, but just took the money and left the wallet in the yard.  Since I wasn't keen on the idea that the perp had my address, I wanted to go look to see if I could find it.  I'm out stomping the yard around my building with some of my friends,  shocked at my good fortune that only my wallet was missing.  I decided to look back through my purse one last time to confirm.  And at this point, I had Officer on the phone with me. OMG.

Remember how I said my keys wouldn't fit in my purse? Remember how I said we had a rental? Well, THAT key fit in my purse. But I wasn't used to seeing keys in my purse OR seeing that key at all.  And it was gone. And so was my car...

To be continued...