09.22.05

“Number five.”

That’s what I told Detectives Locke and Moncrease this afternoon at the Bureau of Investigations after looking at a photo line up of potential assailants. 

It was a week ago that they caught the guy that robbed my friend and me.  Actually, it was an apartment security guard that cracked the case.  I’m still not totally clear on all the details of how they caught him, so I’ll save that for a later post.  Basically, what I know is that the “robber” is a transient who was just looking for a way to get to Norman.  He’s only 19 years old, but evidently already has a few felony convictions under his belt.  He’s not even from Oklahoma, and evidently by being in Oklahoma was breaking his parole.  He thought OKC had a curfew and didn’t want to get picked up by the cops and have them find out he was breaking parole, so he stole a car to avoid that.  He confessed to everything, so the detectives suspect the case won’t go to trial.  They estimated that he will be in jail for 25 to life, based on the load of evidence against him, his prior convictions, and the four charges currently filed against him (robbing my friend and I of our keys and cell phones, the attempted robbery of my car, and the successful robbery of hers). 

I cannot imagine being 19 years old and going to prison for 25 years.  It is absurd to think how one decision can change your life so drastically.  I realize that his prior decisions are playing a big role in the consequences of this one, but I’m still just amazed.  If in fact he does get 25 years, upon being released, he will have spent more time in prison than out of prison.  Crazy.

I think I want to contact him.  Definitely not now, but maybe sometime.  I don’t feel anger towards him; my loss was so minimal.  I feel really sad for him.  I feel sad that he got the point that he did.  I feel sad for the future that awaits him.  I think that he was living a hopeless life, and I’m sure that things seem even worse for him now.  I will be prayerfully considering what my future actions/words toward him should be, if any.  I will pray that God will turn this situation around and use it for His glory and His name’s renoun. 

On another (but not really lighter) note, last night in my Bible study, Stacey asked us the question, “What do you want on your tombstone, and what song do you want played at your funeral?”  My funeral song came to me instantly.  About a month ago, Fire and Rain came on the radio, and I just knew that if I lost someone I loved, I could remember them through this song.  When I was in middle school, I fell in love with JT listening to my mom’s greatest hits record (that’s right, record) over and over.  If I were to die young, I would definitely want this song played at my funeral. 

Fire and Rain – James Taylor

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Suzanne, the plans they made made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can’t remember who to send it to

I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you again

Won’t you look down upon me Jesus
You got to help me make a stand
You just got to see me through another day
My body’s achin’ and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way

Oh I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you again

Been walkin’ my mind to an easy time
My back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows
It’ll turn your head around
Well, there’s hours of time on the telephone line
To talk about things to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground

Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you, baby, one more time again now
Thought I’d see you one more time again
There’s just a few things comin’ my way this time around now
Thought I’d see you, thought I’d see you
Fire and rain

09.16.05

I have a few minutes here after lunch, so I thought I would finish the post I began yesterday.  My intention was to fill in all the details of HOW I WAS HELD UP AT GUNPOINT, but I got a little distracted.  Thursday nights are usually pretty busy to begin with, then add last night’s HUGE Gulf Relief program sponsored by Residence Life, and I had no extra time.  I didn’t even get to watch Survivor until like 11:00.  And by the way … GO STEPHANIE!  She’s back, and her team won immunity last night.

So Sunday night a friend and I got coffee at Starbucks around 10:00 PM.  Starbucks closed at 10:30, so we just went outside and sat at a table to finish our conversation.  I hadn’t seen this friend since I think February, so we had a lot of catching up to do.  Anyway, there were some other people still out there, so I didn’t think much of it.  Evidently we were out there a long time, because a little after midnight this guy comes walking across the street straight toward us.  No one else is around at this point, so the situation is looking bad. 

At first, we both tried not to stare at him and keep talking to one another, but then it was obvious that he was walking toward us.  It was at this point that we both noticed the gun he was carrying down by his side.  My first thought was to pray, but I couldn’t even formulate words other than to pray “Jesus” silently.  The man took my friend’s purse out of the chair beside her, set it on the table and then sat down next to her and across from me.  I don’t remember all of the words exchanged exactly, but he made it clear that he wanted both sets of keys and both of our cell phones.  He took my friend’s out of her purse first.  He asked if I had a cell phone, but mine was in my pocket.  He told me to stand up, and then he came over to me and got it out of my pocket for me.  He then took my keys out of my purse and asked which car they went to. 

Now thankfully my ignition has had some trouble these days.  Probably for the past month or so it has been incredibly difficult to start at times, and I have had to turn the wheel while jiggling the keys in the ignition in order to get it to start.  When he got in the car, he understandably had difficulty starting it.  I’m trying really hard to remember exactly what happened at this point, but it’s a little fuzzy.  He opened the door and maybe said “Hey” or “Come here.”  I’m not sure, but I stood up and took one step toward him, but also closer to my friend.  I think he asked me how to start it, and I said something like, “It’s tricky … I don’t know … You have to push it in and out.” 

It wasn’t really until this point that I felt fear.  At first I was just in total shock, but now I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to come and try and start the car for him.  I just knew I wasn’t going anywhere near him and the car.  I would seriously have taken a bullet before I would have gone anywhere with him.  He soon gave up trying to steal my car and opted for my friend’s instead.  As he was walking over to her car he said, “Y’all don’t run yet.”  He got in her car, started it successfully, and just drove away.

As soon as he was out of sight, I just remember asking her if she would rather go to Krispy Kreme or Wendy’s.  Krispy Kreme seemed maybe a little closer, so we sprinted across Penn dodging traffic on the way.  They were closed, so we had to bang on the window and make signs saying we needed a phone.  Some guys came to the front door and told us they couldn’t let us in.  I shouted at the man, “I don’t want a doughnut, I just need a phone!”  Just kidding … I didn’t say that, although I wish I had thought of it at the time.  Once they realized that we were crime victims, they brought us a phone and we were able to call the police, as well as family and friends to come pick us up.  I just want to say thank you to Mike at Krispy Kreme for the use of his phone as well as staying with us throughout the whole ordeal.

Let’s see, from that point the police just took the information.  Oh, they looked to see if there might be some usable fingerprints in my car, but they concluded that there weren’t.  I’m sure that if this was a murder case they might have given a little more time and effort to that pursuit, but whatever.  Two of my coworkers came to get me, and that was pretty much it.  It wasn’t until I was riding home that I realized how much worse the situation could have been.

Evidently most crimes are crimes of opportunity as was this one.  Thank the LORD that this particular criminal was not a kidnapper, rapist or killer, but a robber instead.  We were really foolish for being out there so late with everything closed.  I seriously had no idea it was that late, though.  If you had asked me in the moment, I would have guessed that it was 11:00 or maybe 11:15.  Anyway, I am so grateful that it wasn’t worse than it was.  Mostly I am thankful because I feel like the Lord gave me such a peace and calm in the situation.  I know that if my first thought at seeing the gun would have been that he was coming to kidnap us, rape us or kill us, I would have FREAKED OUT.  However, I just thought he was coming to take our stuff, not hurt us. 

So my guess after this experience is that most criminals are not smart.  If they were, they probably wouldn’t be criminals.  I decided not to suspend my cell phone service immediately because I thought maybe he might try to use my cell phone … and he did.  He called several different numbers until my phone died on Tuesday.  I was able to assist in the case by providing those numbers to the detective. 

So I didn’t hear anything all Wednesday or Thursday until last night.  My friend called me to say that they had recovered her car and made an arrest.  That is seriously all I know at this point.  I don’t know where or how they found the car or if the arrested individual is even the real robber.  I’m waiting to hear back from the detective with any more details.  Oh, my friend is in the process of getting her car back, and evidently in the car she found two other people’s cell phone as well as a shot glass.  Our cell phones, however, are still MIA. 

So, I will definitely keep you updated on all the ins and outs of the case.  Who knows what will happen next … maybe I’ll have to pick him out of a line up.  I got a good look at his face, but in the moment I was thinking more about his height.  My friend said that she studied his face the whole time, though, so hopefully between the both of us we can identify him if we need to. 

So that’s probably one of the longest Xanga posts ever.  I hope no one falls asleep reading it!

09.15.05

Today is my half birthday.  I have celebrated my half birthday for the past ten years.  In middle school a friend and I realized that my birthday was her half birthday and my half birthday her birthday.  Ever since then, I have been keenly aware that my half birthday is September 15th.  So … happy half birthday to me, and happy birthday to Tracy!

I’m sure that after my last post everyone is DYING to know the details of the armed robbery … actually, probably everyone who might read this has already heard it directly from me.  Regardless I feel compelled to put it out into Xanga-land as a cautionary tale of how not to sit out in front of Starbucks for an hour and a half after it closes. 

09.13.05

Today is a good day for the following reasons:

1) “Nothing Is Sound” came out today.  I haven’t yet had a chance to listen to it intently, but I like what I’ve heard so far.  Switchfoot has really matured throughout the years.  I remember going to a Third Day/All Star United/Switchfoot concert when I was probably 14 or 15, back when “Legend of Chin” was their only album.  I think there were just three of them then, and they were just crazy … and young!  Their last album was so significant … lyrics like “This is your life; are you who you want to be?” and “When I’m up with the sunrise, I want more than just blue skies.  I want more than just ok.”  Anyway, I am excited to see what message they have to share on this album.

2) The Gilmore Girls season premiere begins in 53 minutes.  The promos have gone something like, “Last season ended with a question.  This season begins with an answer.”  Let’s face it … we all know what that answer is.  Four seasons danced around what finally came to fruition this past season: Luke and Lorelai!

3) I am alive.  I know that that probably sounds trite, but after being held up at gunpoint and having my keys and cell phone stolen, as well as my friend’s car being stolen, I am very thankful that we are both safe and unharmed.  This is only my second post on Xanga, and after last post I was a little worried I would have nothing interesting to write about.  I mean really … all of my good toilet paper material is already out there for the world to see.  After Sunday night, however, I’m not really worried about having posting material.  However, GG does start now in about 45 minutes, so I need to go and grab some dinner.  More about the Grand Theft Auto to come.