Good Samaritan-ism

Apparently I've brought my "A" game to this week.

I blogged the other day about throwing sand on a car engine to extinguish flames. No big pooh-bah, to be honest. Well, this morning I had a repeat episode of an incident that happened over 25 years ago.

I was stationed at Fortress Riley outside of a beautiful little town called Manhattan, KS. Manhattan is the home of Kansas State University, and is a gem in the middle of virtually nowhere, USA. I was in a rather non-descript convenience store on a July Saturday, getting a slurpee or whatever. These two white dudes walked in wearing full length coats. Anyone who has at least driven through Kansas in July can attest to the fact that the median temperature hovers just below the melting point for carbon steel, and no one... I mean NO ONE .... wears a coat of any type, let alone full length in Kansas in July. This was long before the days of cell phones, so I left the mini-mart and went next door to a pub called "The Dugout." The dugout was a family-oriented sports bar and restaurant. I asked to use the phone for an emergency, and after looking up the number for 9-1-1, I dialed 9-1-1.

The police came screaming up in less than 5 minutes, and entered the convenience store. Our two upstanding citizens were housing sawed off shotguns under their coats, and were promptly arrested.

This morning, I was in a Cumberland Farms to copy a document. These two men with their 3-sizes-too-large-pants hanging down to their knees were slowly "shopping." Who shops at a convenience store? No one. We all go in to get what we need, then we leave, right?

Right.

These two were pawing around, so I took my sweet time making the copies. After they were there fully 10 minutes, I paid for my copies, whispered to the clerk (who was also thankfully in tune with what was going on), then went to my car. I drove no more than 2 blocks, and saw a police officer in the parking lot of a bowling alley. I pulled up next to him, and recommended that he go to Cumberland Farms and buy a cup of coffee (actually, I told him what was up - but you get the idea). He pulled out and went up the street. Upon his entrance to the Cumby parking lot, both of the young men left the store and started up the street in a rapid trot. The officer pursued them, and the last I saw was him pulled over with the lights flashing talking to the fine young men.

I went back into the store and the lady there said I deserved a gold star. She also said she was thankful that there were still Good Samaritans in the world today. I reminded her that all I did was make an observation, then go find a police officer...he did the rest. I didn't perform an heroic feats.

The moral of the story is this. Pay attention...yes, I'm talking to you...and you...and you too. Bad guys and girls are out there, you just need to take the blinders off so you don't find yourself in a compromising situation.

Oh...and stay out of convenience stores! :-)