Perpetual Ruminations

911 How My I Assist You?

Today was a long day. I had to be up early to pick up my mother-in-law and drive her to her eye doctor (Ophthalmologists); she has to go in every six weeks and get an injection in her right eye. She lives about forty-five minutes away, but her eye doctor is another two hour drive from there, in the heart of Wait Park/St Cloud.

She's ninety years old and has trouble walking, but gets around fairly well for her age. But this time of year there's snow and ice, so I have to assist her every step. I don't mind except when there are a lot of people who won't make way for us, and St. Cloud is always busy and it seems the people are rude, impatient, and unyielding. Her appointment was at twelve-thirty, so it was also the noon rush.

I live in a rural area with small towns around, so I'm not used to city driving. The heavy, noon hour traffic makes it worse, and I had to take my wife's car, a little Chevy HHR. I would prefer to take my truck, it's big, heavy, and people tend to get out of the way, but in a little car they tend to push you right out of the way. But, my mother-in-law can't get in or out of the truck on her own; I have to pretty much lift her up into it or lift her down. With ice and snow it's just too likely her or I, or both with slip and I would feel horrible if she fell, so a little car in crazy traffic.

To top it off, as I waited for her in the car, a guy walking around the parking lot decides to bust out a car window to steal a purse someone had left on the seat. This happened about four cars down from where I was parked, and I couldn't jut sit there and watch, so I dialed 911 as I stepped out and hustled over. He had opened the door but stopped when he saw me and heard me talking to dispatch. I stopped by the front of the car, a relatively safe distance from him, as I gave the address over the phone. He had a hunting knife in his had, I think he used the handle to bust the window, and pointed it at me!

I put my free hand inside my unzipped jacket and told him he shouldn't bring a knife to a gunfight, even though I had no gun. He must have believed the bluff because he turned and ran off through the parking lot. A few minutes later a police car showed up and took down all the information I could give them then went into the building to find the owner of the car.

I went back to my car and waited for my mother-in-law to text me when she was done, but I was ready to head back to my home in the woods and couldn't get out of there fast enough. I didn't say anything to her about the incident, no need to worry her, and after we were well out of the city I stopped in a smaller town and took her to lunch. After I took her home and helped her get settled in, then home to our dogs and relax.

I lived in Wait Park for over a year before we moved here, it was rated the highest crime rate in Minnesota and I think it still is. If it wasn't for my mother-in-law, I would avoid that area like the plague!