This Monday went from annoying clumsiness to criminal faster than a Camaro went from 0 to 60 MPH in the mid to late 1970s.
After waking up, I turned on the computer and went into the bathroom to, um, well...and wash my hands, face, etc. But as I took my wedding ring off, it slipped through my hands, pinged off the rim of the toilet and went into the garbage can. I had to empty 90-95 percent of the crap in it (hair, tissue, dryer sheets, Q-Tips, etc.) before finding the ring at the bottom, and fortunately, the plastic piece helping my ring from being too loose fell right next to the can.
Walker Evans and I then went on our walk just after 8 a.m., about 15 minutes late due to my clumsiness, and made it a long one by crossing Elmwood Avenue and going down West Utica and Lexington. We came back on Lexington to our street, Norwood Avenue, and had about three blocks to go home.
As I got to Norwood and West Utica, about a block from our house, I saw what I thought to be a neighbor and a police officer standing at our fence and driveway gate looking back at the yard and garage, and as Walker and I approached, went into the backyard. Walker and I then broke into a trot (as much as an aging man and dog can) and when we go to our fence, saw two Buffalo Police Department patrol cars in front of our house and the neighbor and one officer back at the garage, which is a bit behind and not attached to our house.
I identified myself and asked what was happening, and was told that a man had broken into our garage and taken one of the bicycles inside; fortunately, the genius picked a bike that had two deflated tires, and he was caught a block or two away on Richmond Avenue. By the time Walker and I had returned, the suspect had already been transported downtown for booking.
It turns out that this douche nozzle had gotten someone to drive him to our neighborhood, and either watched Walker and I walk away or just happened to pick a house with us gone and no one to see or bark at him. One of the two padlocks on the garage door was popped, and the bicycle was the only item taken.
Walker was pretty friendly with the main officer responding at the house, probably because, as her uniform showed, her last name is Walker. She told me that the neighbor (who will remain unnamed), who is a member of the BPD, saw the suspect go down the driveway, break into the garage and leave with the bike, and he contacted police. Two other neighbors saw the suspect in our backyard and leave, but the first one had already contacted police, who arrived almost immediately.
I had to go to the precinct house at Main and Tupper to file a supplemental report and claim the bicycle, all of which went smooth. My timing was perfect, as someone was leaving the second-closest parking spot to the precinct, and also had about an hour left on his parking stub, which he gave to me and was more than enough for this visit.
After I filed the report with the detective, I claimed the bicycle and left; the only problem being that the bike would not fit in the trunk of my 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier, nor in the backseat until I took the front wheel off, which allowed it to fit.
I really didn't have too much of my day interrupted, but as many people have experienced, the adrenaline has been rushing through me ever since. I feel pissed at the loser who did this, but the violation doesn't feel too bad, probably because the garage is not attached to the house; I bet I would feel a lot worse if our house had been burglarized.
So, I'm thinking that to make up for this crappy Monday so far, that the Buffalo Sabres will defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of their Stnaley Cup Playoff series.
