A funny thing happened

I needed to go to work today (on my day off *sigh*) to finish up the employees' schedule and print it out. They get cranky if they don't know what they're working next week, and believe me I understand. I felt the same way as crew, but with all the drama involved in writing the schedule I never get it all done on Tuesday. I meant to get there earlier, but with one thing and then another it was after 10pm by the time I left home. I don't like going in that late because the dining room is closed, although the pick up window stays open later.

I drove all the way to work before I realized I had left all the papers I needed at home. I went back and rounded up all my stuff. On the way back I decided to cut down a back road instead of taking the main road like I had on my first trip. As I pulled up to the stop light by work I noticed a guy loitering around and watching me approach. When I stopped the guy came over and tried to open my car door. *!!!* I yelled "What are you doing?" and the guy looked into my window. He was a young guy, but had a creepy spaced out stare. He stepped away from my car and turned his back to me and lifted up his shirt a bit. And I'm not a panic-mongerer, but it crossed my mind that he might be pulling a gun on me.

The light turned and I sped off. Well, my work is just across the road from where I had been stopped at the light. By the time I pulled into the lot this guy had crossed the street. He was knocking on the window of a customer's car and trying to get into the building. I had to walk up the same door. I asked if he needed something and he mumbled something along the lines of needing a phone. I told him he couldn't come in and to go to Walmart because they were open. He said, "I see a phone in there. Just let me in for a minute." I told him no and that he needed to leave and not bother people. He didn't seem like he was going to leave, so I let myself in and told the manager on duty we needed to call the police (he had seen the guy outside knocking on cars as well).

I was really impressed with their response. A minute or two later a cruiser pulled up to our building. I was standing outside talking to the officer when we noticed a figure walking across the street. The officer spun around and took off at a sprint, running across Main street without hesitating, it was pretty bad ass. He must have been calling on the radio because three or four other cops appeared out of no where and closed in on the guy. They brought the guy back over, patting him down, and asked me if it was the same guy. It was, and I said so. Then they arrested him. The dude said he was seventeen, but turns out he was nineteen, and wasted. The cops told me they could smell the alcohol on him when they were walking him over. The whole time this guy just kept staring at me all totally creepy.

I don't know if it was a slow night or what, but there were three cop cars and four or five guys. They were all super nice and friendly. I had to give a written statement and everything. They told me they were charging the guy with underage under the influence and inciting a panic. Which it wasn't like we were panicking, but the one cop said, "If some guy came up and tried to get in my car I'd be freaked out." Good point. When I thanked them for coming and responding so quickly they told me this is the kind of thing they take real seriously. Told me I did the right thing, etc.

One of my employees, M, told me she was glad I was there and I had been the one to deal with it because she knew I wouldn't freak out like "some college girl who would just start screaming." The other manager (a guy) said, "Yeah I totally would have started freaking out and yelling, they he'd be stabbing me or something." C'mon guys, sure the guy was super creepy and obviously on something, but it wasn't like he was beating people with rabid gophers or something.