A suspicious incident at College Green
About an hour ago, as I was walking from the Co-op through College Green Park, a woman with a small child in her arms approached me. She had been trying to get the attention of another man walking through the park, but, which earbuds in his ears, he was oblivious to her calls. I happened to be walking the other way so she turned her attention to me.
She told me she lost her cell phone yesterday; she needed to call her nanny and wanted to know if she could use my cell phone.
“It’s a local call,” she said.
I thought for a second, torn between being helpful and telling her no. I am always suspicious of strangers who ask me for favors, especially when it involves my cell phone. My misgivings won out and I told her, “No.”
Feeling sorry, I told her she could go to the Co-op and maybe use a phone there. But she turned and walked away. Before she got too far she told me, “Just so you know, you are the only person who has told me ‘no.’”
I really did not appreciate her trying to give me a guilt trip, but her parting words did weigh on me for a different reason. Though she could have been telling the truth, her story seemed suspicious. First, she was going to call her nanny at eleven thirty. Though I am sure there are exceptions, I assume most nannies watch children during the day. Second, she said I was the first person to tell her “no.” If true, she had obviously approached others and used their phones. Why did she need my phone if she had used others? (Plus, she had the kid with her and tried to give me a guilt trip — effects often used by bums to engender sympathy for money.)
Something did not seem right, so when I got home I called the cops.
It was only the third time I have ever called the police. The first two times involved illegally parked cars that pissed me off. (One was an old Jeep Wagoneer that was basically being stored on Glendale. It was always parked inconveniently near the curve and bridge over the creek and the plates had been expired for six years, so I reported it late last year. That night it was parked in the driveway of the house it always sat in front of and I have never seen it since. Good riddance.) Anyways, I told the dispatcher what happened and he asked me a couple questions about the woman. Probably the most disturbing thing about this whole incident is when the dispatcher simply asked me, “White or black?” Seriously? The woman looked Indian (or Persian, come to think of it), so I suppose her ethnicity could be simplified as “medium brown.” But whatever. It has been about an hour and I have not heard anything from the cops. Either way, I hope the situation works itself out for the better.
She told me she lost her cell phone yesterday; she needed to call her nanny and wanted to know if she could use my cell phone.
“It’s a local call,” she said.
I thought for a second, torn between being helpful and telling her no. I am always suspicious of strangers who ask me for favors, especially when it involves my cell phone. My misgivings won out and I told her, “No.”
Feeling sorry, I told her she could go to the Co-op and maybe use a phone there. But she turned and walked away. Before she got too far she told me, “Just so you know, you are the only person who has told me ‘no.’”
I really did not appreciate her trying to give me a guilt trip, but her parting words did weigh on me for a different reason. Though she could have been telling the truth, her story seemed suspicious. First, she was going to call her nanny at eleven thirty. Though I am sure there are exceptions, I assume most nannies watch children during the day. Second, she said I was the first person to tell her “no.” If true, she had obviously approached others and used their phones. Why did she need my phone if she had used others? (Plus, she had the kid with her and tried to give me a guilt trip — effects often used by bums to engender sympathy for money.)
Something did not seem right, so when I got home I called the cops.
It was only the third time I have ever called the police. The first two times involved illegally parked cars that pissed me off. (One was an old Jeep Wagoneer that was basically being stored on Glendale. It was always parked inconveniently near the curve and bridge over the creek and the plates had been expired for six years, so I reported it late last year. That night it was parked in the driveway of the house it always sat in front of and I have never seen it since. Good riddance.) Anyways, I told the dispatcher what happened and he asked me a couple questions about the woman. Probably the most disturbing thing about this whole incident is when the dispatcher simply asked me, “White or black?” Seriously? The woman looked Indian (or Persian, come to think of it), so I suppose her ethnicity could be simplified as “medium brown.” But whatever. It has been about an hour and I have not heard anything from the cops. Either way, I hope the situation works itself out for the better.
