Article July 9, 2001 Issue

I got my wallet back

Chasing a robber is not what I would ordinarily do or advise anyone to do.

By Charles Rownd

It was the first day of school, and I was looking for someone to have lunch with. One of my fellow teachers walked by and said that she was afraid to walk alone in the neighborhood but still wanted to go out, so I said, "Let's go together." We headed up the street and went to the Chinese take-out restaurant. They didn't have the soda I wanted, so I stopped in a local store to get it. I told my colleague to walk on and that I'd catch up with her. When I took my wallet out of my back pocket, I became uncomfortably aware of the men hanging out in front of the store. So I quickly took out a dollar, put my wallet back in my pocket, and walked out.

As I left, one of the men asked me for money. I ignored him and kept walking. I'd almost reached the front door of my school several blocks away from the store when I felt a hand on my hip. When I turned around, one of the men who were at the store was trying to get my wallet out of my back pocket. I yelled, "What are you doing?" and shouted, "Stop!" He finally got the wallet out and started to run down the street.

There I stood in the middle of the street, Chinese food in my left hand and the can of soda in my right. Loosing my credit cards, identification, and other important items was utterly horrifying, so I briefly prayed.

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