story time

[Mr. Blackwell]

Today is Sunday March 27th 2022.

Spring break for our school system. Mrs. Blackwell went to Atlanta, GA with a good friend of hers. She left Friday, March 25th. She will return home late Monday, March 28th. Yesturday, Saturday, was my eldest daughters first day at her first real job. She spent Friday night at my fathers house so he could take her to work at 8:00 a.m. I coudn't do it because I had to be at work at 6:00 a.m. that day. I normally work 7 to 3:30 Monday-Friday. So Saturdays are overtime. YEAH!

I walk out to the car. It's cold. It's early. It's dark. And I hear someone talking. I look around and see a guy walking and talking beside the building in front of my house. Looks and sounds to me like he is talking to somebody I can't see from my vantage point. I don't recognize him. I know he is not the owner of the building but maybe he is talking to the owner. I don't know. I get in the car and go to work.

Later, at work, I send a good morning greeting to Mrs. Blackwell and Emily. Emily responds. At 9:00 am my father sent a message to the wife and me saying that Emily was at work and he spoke to the manager and told me that I should pick Emily up at 4:00 p.m.

No problem, except Emily's schedule has her marked down for 10 hrs a day for the whole week while they are setting up the new store. That's 70 hrs for one week. Emily told me earlier that the schedule was flexible. She didn't explain exactly how flexible. The manager told her that they can work 70hrs if they want to but they don't have to. So, I sent her 5 messages asking exactly when she wanted me to pick her up. She did not answer any of my messages.

Meanwhile, I' tried to get in touch with my other two younger daughters who were home alone. I called and Bela answered. I heard he voice but apparently she did not hear mine. Bad connection. When I tried again later, no answer.

Now I'm starting to panic. Just a little. "What if scenarios" combined with logical probabilities.

I get to Emily's work place at 3:05 pm. Park and call message my wife. "Do you know where the kids are? Have you heard from Emily?"

Anna and Bela might be with their grandparents. What's their number? I just realized I never put Mrs. Blackwell's parents into my phone. She sends me their phone number and I call it. Straight to voice mail. Voice mail message sounds like it's a home number...a land line. So I left a message. Contacted Mrs. Blackwell to ask for her dad's cell phone number. Mrs. B says that the number she gave me IS the cell number.

f**k f**k f**kity f**k.

Mrs. B gets into contact with her father and tells me that they pick up Anna and Bela, took them out shopping and bought them lunch and that they were at home now.....Great! Good news!

Now....where is Emily? It's 3:45 am I supposed to pick her up at 4 or 7?

Don't know. At 4:00 I see lots of employees leaving the building. I don't see Emily. Seven more minutes pass. So I walk up to the front doors, automatic doors, that are not turned on because they are not open for business yet. So I manually open them with my hands because that is what I saw the employees do when they were leaving.

[Mr. Blackwell]

Emily is ironically the first person I see as I walk in to the store.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

"I've sent you 5 messages. Why didn't you respond?"

"Can I help you?" A man who noticed me walk up and asked while keeping a safe distance between me and him and Emily. I looked him straight in the eye and did not respond. Just looked back to Emily who turned to her manager and said. "This is my dad"

"I told you I was planning on working 10hrs."

"Yeah, and I told you to keep in contact with me. So I pick you up at 7?"

At that point, dinner plans were shot. We stopped at Arby's on the way home.

More to come about the transient.

[Kiahanie]

 

[Mr. Blackwell]

I don't give a f**k about myself. I really don't. But I care about other people.

So I get home Saturday and not two minutes passed before the phone rang. It was my next door neighbor. The lady on the other side, not the guy whose brother shot himself in the heart on the front porch one night a couple years ago. He's moved out since then. A bunch of kids have moved in that place. Anyway, she asks me if I've seen this guy hanging around the property in front of us.

Yes. Actually I see him now through my kitchen window. He's gesticulating wildly with his hands and yelling something at the same time while pointing down the road at no one in particular. She tells me she saw him Friday night hanging around and that he had a large black garbage bag. We are both concerned about his mental health but also, without saying it out loud to one another...our safety. She doesn't want to cause trouble so I ask her if she would like me to call 911.

Yes, thank you. I think you could do a better job explaining the situation than I could. So I did.

"911. Is this an emergency?"

No. There is a homeless guy squatting on the property across from my house. He might need medical attention. He's talking to himself and screaming profanities into the ether.

I go back out, make sure both cars are locked and take my .45 pistol out of my trunk and bring it into the house. And load it. Just in case.

A few minutes later I see a couple of sheriffs cars drive by. I'm sitting on the front porch, one of them waves at me. They didn't stop. Just smile and wave boys. You're doing a fine job. I'm thinking about Monday morning. When I have to leave my two youngest children home alone again while I and my eldest child go to work and Mrs. B is still out of town.

What ifs.

To be continued.   

[kevin]

why isyour gun in thetrunk of a car? unloaded?

mine is in my back pocket. loaded and racked.

[maritime]

You care about the guy, apparently homeless. You have no idea if you and your family will be in harm's way. Not in his right mind and hello!, 9-1-1, he might need medical attention. Perhaps he has had medical attention that put him out of his mind and he has been left to his own devices--not a kindness, not a solution. What of miracles, a miracle worker or workers.

[Mr. Blackwell]

why isyour gun in thetrunk of a car? unloaded?

mine is in my back pocket. loaded and racked.

It's a long story. Not interesting. I have a couple guns but I'm not a gun nut and I'm sometimes absent minded but still safety minded. I don't feel like I need a gun always around now days. I did feel that way when I was driving cross country for my job because I never knew where I was going to be sleeping on any given day of the week.

[Mr. Blackwell]

You care about the guy, apparently homeless. You have no idea if you and your family will be in harm's way. Not in his right mind and hello!, 9-1-1, he might need medical attention. Perhaps he has had medical attention that put him out of his mind and he has been left to his own devices--not a kindness, not a solution. What of miracles, a miracle worker or workers.

Turns out he is known among our local police. I'm concerned about the guy. my neighbor is concerned about the guy. The owner of the property is concerned about the guy.

Local "authorities" told him to just keep his feet moving.

I found the owner of the building's name and number in my contact list. i figured if I couldn't get 911 to do anything maybe he could. And he did. The owner told me that the deputy knew the man, called him by his name. Been arrested many times. Still....just sent him on his way.

Me, my neighbor and the owner are concerned about his mental health. We want him to get help. But. but..butt

you gotta take into consideration the Mental Health Parity Act and insurance.