A Lot of Excitement For One Little Town

My town. I just love it. I love that it is tiny. And quaint. And filled with old homes. And mature trees. And friendly, older neighbors who have lived here most of their lives. Some call it Mayberry. Our mayor is not only one of neighbors, he also teaches our boys karate. Our town is a one stop-light town. ("At the stop light, take a right and that's our street," is how we tell people where we live. Or "right across the street from Pastor Michael." If we say that, everyone will know our exact house. And who lived here before we did.)

So when I noticed two police cars on my street yesterday, I thought that was odd. We have a "town resident," who works for the county's sheriffs office and he is assigned our town as his main duty post. We know him by name. We see him driving around town frequently, but he is always alone.

And I thought it was even more strange when I saw a Maryland State Trooper car driving down our street. (We live on a dead end.) I kind of hovered near the front door wondering what was going on. Making sure the door was locked, as it always is. And when I saw sheriff's deputies canvassing my street, going door to door, I nearly flipped my wig. I had to abruptly end the call I was on to answer the door with a panicky, "what's wrong?!"

The one and only bank on Main Street was robbed and, apparently, the suspects ran down my street. Down. My. Street. My little Mayberry-town street.

It was only minutes before Taylor was due home, so I hovered the front door nervously, watching for the suspects. Not wanting to see them.

Taylor arrived home safely. I promptly escorted him into the house and waited. I looked out the door. Some neighbors were out on the street. Some (like me) were locked away. When I noticed an elderly neighbor coming home, I thought I should warn him. As we were standing on the street, a young man walked down the street. Then a police car pulled up. I decided to go back to my house and as I passed by, one of the officers said on his walkie-talkie "do we have a photo of the suspect?" So, I walked a little faster home.

As soon as I got inside, my phone rang. It was my best friend calling to warn me. I answered the phone, walked back to the door and this is what I saw:

They were frisking him. In a matter of seconds, three police cars, a police SUV, and an unmarked (FBI ?) car were in front of the house interrogating the guy.

I'm giving the play-by-play to my friend, while running to my laptop and emailing my sister the same details (she works for the same bank, but in the main office).

Turns out, after smelling the suspect's hands (yes, they did, I would not make that up), and an FBI agent's visit to a neighbor's house to verify his story, he was released. Bad timing is what is was. He was on his way to visit one of my neighbors. At least by the time he reached my neighbor's house he was laughing. My neighbor was nearly doubled over in laughter.

As of this morning, I have yet to see anything on the news or online for the one-and-only county newspaper. It's not mentioned at all, which makes me think the suspects are still at large.

Oh, and did I mention that Joe is out of town again this week? Nice.

(And here's a mouse update: I caught one. I discovered it yesterday before all the excitement. I had to put a bag on my hand so that I could touch the trap. I did not even scream. I seriously contemplated leaving it there until Joe's return on Friday night, but it was on my kitchen floor. And then I contemplated having my 81-year-old neighbor getting it for me, but then I thought that was too much to ask. And this morning Taylor warned me that there's a giant spider on the loose in my bathroom. Here's to being a lot more brave than I ever thought possible!)

Comments

Anonymous said…
you should write a book. you are so funny. For everyone, i was the friend on the other end of the phone. I got the second by second update.....and it was even more funny on the phone!!!
Anonymous said…
That is a lot of excitement,especially for one day!
Anonymous said…
Oh gosh, I bet it was a little tense waiting for your son to arrive home! Hopefully today will be more low-key! :)
Sarah and Jack said…
We had someone who robbed like 7 banks here this year before he was caught last week. Oy.
Anonymous said…
wow, that is a lot of excitement! and hooray for you with the mouse - i hope i would have been as brave in that situation!
That would have been exciting by my standards too and I live in a big city.

Here's hoping that the police will catch the suspect soon and you will catch the spider.
Amanda Jean said…
won't the boys dispose of the mouse for you?
Anonymous said…
ZNow that IS excitement! Hope all stays safe and calm while he's gone.
misschris said…
Wow! Very exciting. What was with the smelling of the hands??

Ick. Mice.
Karyn said…
Oh my goodness. Okay, so you've already told me the story, but it's so much funnier that your risked your life to take photos of the suspect being frisked!!!!!!!

You kill me.

And you're right. Your town usually IS Mayberry (unless the bank is being robbed).
Anonymous said…
Wow! Your little street may be on the next America's Most Wanted! Oh, the excitement!

Did I tell you Eliot nearly STEPPED ON a mouse the other morning? The cats had killed it and left it for us to find.

Yeah, thanks.

And Tim was out of town, too. I scooped it up in the dustpan.
Katie Jean said…
yikes, that's crazy! I can only imagine you standing there watching all this through the window. It makes me laugh to just think about it. Hope they catch that guy!
Jessica said…
OMG Lera, your life is one adventure after another! My DH is often out of town as well and YES, these things ALWAYS happen when they're gone, don't they? We get lots power outages (for several days in a row)...and always when DH is gone ~ of course!

Isn't it amazing how strong/brave we can be when we have to? Here's to lots more "fun" adventures! :)
Anonymous said…
Oh Lera I could crease in laughter. I'm now humming "I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly". You use the mouse to catch the spider etc.

Oh my wasn't that scarey and having your boy due home at the same time! But that poor chap has an absolute humdinger for an excuse for being late! LOL
Stacey said…
Crazyness....glad you got your cheese bandit though! Stay safe...
Kris said…
Wow! That was excitement! That would be excitement in our dead end street too. (although we live in suburbia) I love the photos too (what is with the hand smelling? The mind boggles. Wrong doing leaves a bad smell on perpetrators hands? Or was it part of the guys alibi? "No sir, I've been working at the local lavender farm all morning picking lavender!" I can't think why they would smell his hands!!!)

Good going with the mouse. My husband is heaps scared of spiders so I am the permanent spider retrieval team here. Even when he's home!
Diane said…
I love the photos of the play-by-play! Maybe the paper didn't print the story because they need photographs (hint, hint). Strange how you had a bandit outside and a bandit inside - thank goodness they're different bandits!
You sound like you have the same kind of excitement I have around my house. I, too, always wonder why robbers, gigantic spiders, and hurricane winds that blow trees down and make my trampoline fly happen when my husband is out of town. He was here for the earthquake, though. :)

Amanda

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