As mentioned in previous threads, churches surround me. My apartment building is across the street from a church. The two building adjacent on either side are also churches. There’s also a church next to the church adjacent to the church on the immediate left, as there is another church adjacent to the church across the street. The church on my immediate right has a church kitty-corner across another street. It makes for a quiet neighborhood with the exception of Sunday and Thursday in which I’m treated to free gospel music concerts.
In this thread we’re discussing the church across the street, which my kitchen, master bedroom, one of the bathrooms all overlook. Sometime during our fire-induced exodus, the church across the street began being vandalized. The pastor of the church approached the wife and I and asked us to come for a service, and also asked me to look after the place. The first isn’t likely though I don’t tell him that, the second I agree to immediately. I’m a law and order kind of guy.
Most of the vandalism has been in the form of broken windows and spray paint. Kid type stuff it seemed, but I discounted immediately. The church does good work for the neighborhood. They hold frequent giveaways like this years back to school supplies. In fact the day we moved back, they bought over a fried chicken dinner. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m a non-believer this would be my kind of church; Christian who actually behave like Christians, who knew? In addition, most of the kids including my own play there, and if it was someone they knew I could count on my kids to tell me and or the pastor immediately.
I’m a good friend with a guy around the corner who like me works from home and has an office that faces the parking lot of the church. Between us we have good coverage. The fact that we’re watching must have gotten out immediately as the vandalism stopped. Until last Wednesday that is, when some A-hole spray-painted a red squiggly line all along the church on both the side that faces my windows and along the front. This really ticked me off because I had been up until one that morning. My wife had gotten up at three. I had gotten up at four, and nothing was amiss. This wasn’t vigilance, just happenstance, but we’ve taken to looking at the church just to make sure nothings going on. However when I get up at six there’s the paint.
Let me explain this. This was not the work of some tagger. This was deliberate and took time. It was a 1 ½ to 2½-foot squiggly line like this: ~~~~~ Except it’s contiguous. I called the police who came out took statements and called the pastor who did the same. I’m thinking of setting my video camera up to catch the guy, except I don’t know where I’ve packed the damned thing. But the fact that it’s happened under my nose made it kind of personal. So here’s the thing. Friday I’m sitting here at the computer when I here a crash I run to the window, and there he is. The guy is walking casual as you please smashing the stained glassed windows as he walks by. If it wasn’t for the complete absurdity of what I’m seeing I might have acted faster. As it was I’m just kind of standing there fascinated for a moment.
I snap out if it; tell my wife to cal 911 and run down stairs after the guy. I’m not the only one who heard what’s going on as my fellow apartment dwellers all rush out to see what’s going on. The guy realizing he’s attracting a crowd begins running. Me and another guy run after him but he’s fast and looses us. But it’s not that important because I recognized the guy. You see I had gone to the liquor store 20 minute earlier and had seen the guy in front of the liquor store; he even spoke to me as I walked by.
I the police arrived a few minutes after I got back. I told them about what happened then rode along with them to see if he was where he’d been earlier. Unfortunately he wasn’t nor was he in the 8-block radius we drove along trying to spot him. So yesterday I’m out front talking to the Pastor and the neighbor down the street I mentioned and his wife. I’m walking along showing them just how it happened. While I’m doing this, unnoticed by me a car is coming from the other way. I come back and look up just in time to see the guy in the car pointing at the church and saying something to his passenger. As he passed he turns his head towards me and it’s him! “That’s the guy” I yell, “It’s him”
The pastor runs to his car, but the guy has already turned the corner, cut through the supermarket parking lot across the street, and it’s obvious he’s going to get away. Not one of us thought to get the license number. The Pastor looks like he ready to start cussing. Luckily for us cooler heads prevailed. Instead of running after the car or her car, my neighbor’s wife took a picture. She nailed the plate. I’m waiting to hear of the police got the guy yet.