Thursday, September 25, 2008

Everybody's a Hero

So.

how do I start this.


Well...as some of you know...


3 days ago I was mugged. On a train. at 1:30am.


But that isn't the whole story. Oh no. That isn't even the half of it.

Why do I sound so chipper? Lots of reasons. 1. I got my stuff back 2. I caught the girls (lets be fair, the police caught the girls) 3. I pressed charges

So lets get to the nitty gritty!

12:40am Tuesday morning : I'm coming home from a going away party for a co-worker. We do that, you know, cause at my job you sort of get...free alcohol. So any sort of party is the best party.
I am walking to the red line train when I see a brown line (quite a weird circumstance since they usually stop running at 12am or earlier). I burst into a sprint up the stairs to get on it. Make it just in time.

1:10am : there I am minding my own business. Reading "Good Omens", listening to "Dr. Horribles Sing-a-long Blog".

3 teenage girls enter the train and act drunk. Two have the same pink shirt on, the other an orange shirt. Then they get behind me (not suspiciously, but you know..behind me) and stay there. I don't hear them, I am listening to "Everybody's a Hero".

1:30am : Armitage stop on the Brownline. Doors Open. Hand comes round my face and sprays me with something (something I eventually deem to be mace because it hurts). Then I feel a yank and the one girl (from here on out called Orange) takes my BAG.

now. what would be your first instinct? Who knows, you can only really speculate.

mine? Chase them. why? Because its MY bag and they HAVE it. Simple really.

So I run off the train, face all maced, book and ipod in hand, and pass one pink (PINK 1) shirt girl.

I hear: "I can't believe she's chasing us"
I think: "You're fucking right I am, its MY bag and YOU have it"

I pass the other pink shirt girl (PINK 2) and continue chasing Orange. My ipod drops somewhere..
I run pass the turnstiles (red faced and screaming...scary sight wouldn't you think?) and see out of the corner of my eye, a cop car.

A COP car. Sitting there.


One side of my brain: Oh good a cop car, they will stop her.
The other side of my brain: YOU BITCH! GIVE ME BACK MY BAG! I WILL RUN YOU DOWN!

Orange drops my bag on the corner of the street and I run and pick it up. .....NOW I start to feel the mace. The burning, firey mace.

I see the cop car had turned in my direction. The cop asks what happened. I yell "They maced me and took my bag"

I look back over to the station. The Pink 1 and Pink 2 are standing there and a CTA attendant is behind them.


One side of my brain: Oh good. They are caught. I must tell the attendant I dropped my ipod.
the other side of my brain: OH WHAT IS THIS BURNING? IT IS BURNING!

I tell the attendant as she is escorting me to the bathroom to flush my face, that I dropped my ipod somewhere. She says shes going to go and find it.

I flush my face for what seems like forever but the burning doesn't stop. The cold water feels OH so wonderful.

The cops come in and eventually I have to go outside to them. The attendant found my ipod on one of the girls...but I got it back..
When I get out there I see a paddy wagon and 3 more cop cars. The main cop (who was there from the beginning) tells me they caught Orange and that I will have to identify her.

They show her. I say "that's her" and go back to the fan I was standing in front of. He also asks me if I want to press charges. I say "of COURSE I do" and immediately regret snapping at him.

But seriously, I totally did.

And that meant I had to "go downtown" and wait and interview and not sleep and have my eyes burn more.

I did it anyway. I went to the station. They put me in a holding room (which was one of those interrogation rooms from the tv) and I wait. They come and check up on me (I was totally acting cool and reading the newspaper but I wanted to sleep or cry or something..I honestly didn't know what to do..it was 2:30am)

update twitter

This one guy comes and tells me he'll take me to the hospital so they could wash my eyes out. I'm sitting here going: oh man, i can handle the burn because I don't have health insurance and I totally just spent $1000 to fix my car and I can't handle that stress right now...( yeah THAT stress I can't handle)

But I let him take me.

They wash my eyes out. Which feels like THIS...
but also tickles and feels super weird.
And they give me a new shirt (long sleeve...good cause I was cold)....they give me a "victims application" which insures that all that treatment will be paid for. Thank god.

And we go back to the station. I go to ANOTHER room with a tv and snacks and stuff and I wait more.

I am interviewed by several people. A detective is totally trying to get all 3 of them convicted of armed robbery, not just the one.

I'm there at 4:30am

I'm there at 5:30am

I'm there at 6:30am...and by this time I'm calling my job and telling them I probably won't make it in today.

The states attorney comes in at 8am. And interviews me. for 5 minutes.

its 8:30. When I would have been at work....I am being taken home by a nice cop who says hes going on vacation that next day.

I get home. Get in the shower to rinse the rest of the mace off me. Careful not to get any BACK into my eyes.

Get into pjs.

update twitter.

go to sleep.

11 comments:

Crescent said...

Wow!!!! That is a crazy CRAZY story! But way to go you for chasing and thinking and following through!

Mr. B said...

Holy Crap.
That's an incredible and terrible story, both at the same time. On the one hand, I'm terribly sorry that happened to you. On the other hand, I am impressed as Hell by your bad-ass reaction. Mace me and I fold like a house of cards. Mace you and you get angry and kick some ass. Wow.
Enjoy some relaxing recovery time today, take some time off from work, and recover. Maybe today would also be a good day to explore the incredible medicinal powers of Ben & Jerry's.
Take care of yourself, kiddo. We'll be thinking about you.
COB

Natalie said...

Good job, les!

"EVERYONE's a hero in their way!"

Anonymous said...

OMG YOU'RE MY FREAKING HERO! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! It ROCKS to be YOU FO SHIZZLE!
Glad you're okay too...BTW:O)
XOXO
Sophia

Unknown said...

yes, you are the most badass of the badasses.

who's been maced but still chasing down the 'perps?

LESLIE.

booyah.

You rock.

kel

ps =
i like the polar bear pic. so funny. :)

kel

Axel said...

Awesome story. so glad you're okay and everything worked out in the end. Here's hoping you never have to deal with that again.

Unknown said...

I'm glad you're okay. The bitchy girls, trying to steal your ipod even after you started chasing them. They are dumb. I hope they get their just desserts! And I hope you get some more ice cream.

Mandy said...

I'm sorry you got mugged, but you're such a badass!

what a long night though! sheesh!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is completely amazing and you are incredibly brave and tough. Holy crap, I didn't see the mace part coming and like everyone else I can't believe you chased them, mace-in-the-face and all!!
Not just an outstanding story, but so well written - I laughed out loud at my computer screen at the polar bear picture. You are even funny in writing - I so admire that.
Feel better soon - can't wait to visit Kelly and Dan again in Chicago so we can hang out with the Wii some more. :)
-Ally (and husband Chris)

Dennis Frymire said...

You just became my own personal hero.

Rock on!

Jill said...

I'm late to adding a comment, but wow, I'm so glad you are ok and that those Bee-yatches are going to get what they deserve!
I also love that you were listening to "Everybody's a Hero" -- you sure were your own hero that night!
- Jill