Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Sunday, August 14, 2016

A Surprise

I stepped out my door to go for a walk and almost had my nose taken off by two police officers running with a police dog. I was shocked! In my neighborhood?  How could that be? Too stunned to move I stood in place looking all around me and could see nothing wrong. The officers were long gone. Who were they chasing?

I feel totally safe walking anywhere in this complex and the park that's nearby. It never occurs to me something that would require a police dog could be happening around me.

I decided to continue on with my walk and never saw a police car or any disturbance of any kind. I still have no idea where the officers came from or where they went. My suspicion is something had happened outside this complex and the person they were chasing simply ran onto this property looking for a place to hide. What if I'd stepped outside and been face to face with that person?

Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?
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by Christopher Hayes

I've been seeing this book for a while and it moderately peeked my interest. Finally I decided to look up Christopher Hayes and see what the deal was on him. You see, I'm a bit of a snob, working in academia does that to you.

Ok, he's young, has a TV show that I don't watch, I do follow him on Twitter for the links he posts to interesting articles, he's a graduate of the elite Hunter College High School in New York, and has a BA in philosophy from Brown University.  Umm, not particularly impressive to me. There's no post graduate work.

The book continues to taunt me. Finally I decide the quickest way to deal with this is to get the book in audible format. It's not all that long, 7 hours, and I listen to a lot of stuff I wouldn't want to read.

Surprise, I'm greatly enjoying the book and wish I'd bought it in a paper so I could underline and write notes. Now what am I going to do? I'm going to Amazon! There I see I can get it in hard copy for $0.01 plus $3.99 postage. That means I wait until whatever time the seller decides to drop it in the mail.

OR I can use Prime and get it tomorrow, no postage, for $10.56. I want it now! I decide to bite the bullet and go Prime. Surprise, a message popped up I could get a copy using Prime for $6.50. Way to go I said and ordered it.

It takes a lot of effort to read these days.

21 comments:

  1. I feel quite safe in my rural neighborhood. There's always the chance of a weirdo on the loose, I guess, but I try to be vigilant.

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    1. I only use one earbud when I'm walking because I want to be able to hear what's going on around me.

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  2. I feel safe in my neighborhood but the feeling is based on reality i.e. I check the crime mapping site for my cities' police department from time to time. The most that happens in my neighborhood are car break-ins.

    I like Chris Hayes but that book sounds too deep for me.

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    1. I never think to look for a crime mapping site. I was afraid the ahayes book would have so many statistics it would be boring but happily, that has not been the case.

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  3. I hate it when I want a book so much I pay full price. I confess that it has happened more than once. Oh well, that's why I live frugally so I can buy when I want.

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    1. I feel downright insulted to have to pay full price for a book.

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  4. I will bet the police dog unit were training a dog. they train in my neighborhood all the time. They like to visit.

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    1. I don't think the even saw me but they certainly got my attention.

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  5. I like Chris Hayes, but I haven't read his book.

    I feel safe in my neighborhood. It's a very small community. My son and DIL just moved to a new neighborhood. It's in a densely populated area. My DIL checked one of the sex offender sights. They seem to be in a good spot.

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  6. Replies
    1. I have to admit I've since thought how fortunate we are to live in a safe area. There are, no doubt, areas of the city where it is not uncommon to see police using K-9 dogs in their work.

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  7. While my neighborhood is not the best, I do feel safe walking around it.
    This must be the Chris Hayes from MSNBC. This might be a book for Tom. I usually read fiction books, and get my serious reading from editorials.

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    1. Yes, this is the Christopher Hayes on MSNBC. You've been very fortunate not to have had a bad experience with all the miles you've walked. Of course there is that bummer fall your shoes caused. Tom walks with you a lot but you also walk alone. You must be very vigilant.

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  8. I feel safe in my area, but would I sleep with the downstairs windows open at night? Do I leave my garage door open? No and no. Better safe than sorry.

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    1. Our patio sliding door is open most of the time which means it's unlocked. The front door is always locked. Bob refuses to sleep with the windows open but I probably would.

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  9. Our town is rated as one of the safest in Texas, but still, things happen. A couple of months ago, I arrived at my favorite nature center only to find the K-9 unit, four police cars, and a cluster of people. An early jogger had been sexually assaulted on one of the paths, and already was off to the hospital in an ambulance. It took me a few days to go back, but on my last visit, I noticed that there are several new cameras high in the trees. Good move. Even if it doesn't prevent an attack, it may aid in apprehension.

    When I lived inside the Loop in Houston, I was mugged and my wallet stolen (1983). And, in Berkeley, I found a guy happily letting himself in my sliding glass door about 6:30 at night (1979). A friend and I were followed by a motorcyclist this year, and did the usual pull-into-a-public-place-call-cops routine. So it goes.

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    1. With your history I would be inclined to be fearful. I don't sense that in what you've written. Good for you. Fear can paralyze us and we become prisoners of fear. We have to keep living.

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    2. Well, one thing I've learned is that I carry a concealed weapon: I scream like a banshee. In both the mugging and the home invasion, I let loose, and both of those dudes went running. The guy trying to pry open the doors with a crowbar went over a 5' concrete block wall. Knowing I can do that gives a certain confidence.

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  10. I generally feel safe and I often walk alone for exercise. I try to look purposeful and aware when I am out. My husband used to prefer that I carry pepper spray and my son prefers that I not use earphones at all.

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    1. I use only one earbud. I fool myself into thinking that helps. Perhaps it does some but I doubt it's enough. I use only one earbud around the house in order to better hear Bob if he starts talking to me. He doesn't talk very loud anymore or I'm losing some of my hearing. Probably a combination of the two.

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  11. I'm still waiting for Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Louis Dean does NOT want to read it but I do. I suspected Laura's life was not as wonderful as it sounded in her books. I've heard it's not an easy read by any means. Still, I don't want to spend a lot of $$ so I am waiting......
    We keep our front door shut and locked mostly. The back is secured with extra tall fencing so those doors are seldom locked during the day. No one is safe anywhere anymore! Be careful!

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