One night the other week I was woken up to the sound of a car alarm going off. At first I was super pissed because my Haverstraw neighborhood seems to be so loud all the time. Living on Center Street in Geneseo was so quiet and tranquil (when the raccoons weren't around, at least). Now there's this loud ass train that goes by all the time, cars zoom down the road with their stupid roaring motors and amped up music systems, and rude drivers beep at people to come out of houses instead of being polite and going to the freaking door...I can't even. I'm not even gonna mention the birds that sit on the power line outside my window because they know I'm in my room trying to sleep while they're being chirpy jerks.
So it's 2am and some buttbrain's car alarm is going off. I grumbled and rolled over to check the time on my cell phone (yup, 2am, grumble grr) - and then I heard someone running. They were running very loudly and suspiciously.
So, being the nosy person I am, I peeped out my window. I am blessed with a window that looks right out onto a main street - which was exactly where a dude in a long-sleeved white shirt was running, away from the noise of the car alarm. You motherlover, you just tried to break into a car, didn't you? I thought to myself. Good, go away.
And then, halfway down the street, he stopped running. He swaggered back up the middle of the road, looking into cars on his way up. He even tried the handles of several cars.
Now, I'm the kind of person who likes to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was drunk and forgot which car was his. Maybe a friend drove him to another friend's house on that road and he got cold and was going to get his hoody from his friend's car, but he forgot which one it was. Or maybe he was trying to find an unlocked car so he could take any money or important belongings he found. Scumbag.
Either way, I thought I should probably call the cops. But I wasn't 100% sure! So I went downstairs, where my dad was watching TV. I told him what I had heard and seen, and asked if I should report it to the police. He said, "Yes, you definitely should do that," and then he gave me the number for the actual police station so I didn't have to call 911, because this wasn't really an emergency, just suspicious activity.
So I called the police station and a nice dispatcher lady picked up. I told her what I had seen, described what he was wearing, and kept an eye on him from my bedroom window. While I was on the phone, White Shirt Guy was joined by two friends, Plaid Shirt Person and Red Shirt Dude. I saw Red Shirt Dude try the handle of a car almost directly across from my house - and it was open, so he got in! While he was in the car (that may or may not have been his), White Shirt Guy and Plaid Shirt Person walked down the street and out of sight. After a few minutes Red Shirt Dude got back out and started walking down the street.
By this time, I had hung up with the dispatcher and saw a police car come creeping onto the street, it's spotlight beaming all around the street. I was very impressed with how quickly they had reacted to my call. The cop car stopped halfway down the street and an officer came out on foot, using a flashlight to look at all the cars parked along the street. He stopped at the car I had seen Red Shirt Dude get in and out of, and I could hear him say over his radio that the glove box was hanging open and inside was empty. So I guess that means I witnessed a robbery by Red Shirt Dude.
I ventured outside with my father, ignoring his pleas for me to please go back inside and get some shoes on because I felt more badass going barefoot and we weren't walking very far, anyway. The cops saw us coming and intercepted us. We discussed how I was the vigilant neighbor who had so graciously called the police on these insolent, thieving wretches. I confirmed that the car I saw Red Shirt Dude get into was the one that they suspect had been robbed (along with another further along the street). They even had me identify Red Shirt Dude, who they had already caught! It turns out Red Shirt Dude was actually an androgynously dressed female, however, so I must change her identifying name to Red Shirt Chick.
Then we went back inside our house and I kept watching out my window to see if anything interesting would still happen. Nothing really did for a while so I talked on the phone with Silvia and then with Carolyn, until the finally caught White Shirt Guy (who was definitely a guy). They walked him up and down the street, trying to get him to confess to all of the cars he had gotten into.
By then it was around 5am and I was very tired so I went to bed, disappointed that I never got to give a statement to the police. Now I will only be known as that anonymous caller who busted some petty thieves. You're welcome, neighborhood.
And to Plaid Shirt Person, who evaded arrest that night: I don't know if you participated in the illegal activities of your friends, but you should probably hang around different people, eh?
