Tainted

In 4th grade I made a citizen's arrest. I was walking home from the bus stop with my younger brother (2nd grade at the time) and my friends. The bus dropped us off across the street from the HS parking lot. A male HS student picked up a rotting apple core and lobbed it over the street, hitting me in the head. It didn't hurt, but my hair was slimed and spattered with apple mush. As we all looked around to see where it came from, we saw the perpetrator across the street. Just as we spotted he and his friend, he dropped his pants and showed us his bright white backside. Not sure what to do, we all hurried over to the closest of our houses and called my mom.

If you know my brother at all, you know he's very protective of his friends and especially his wife, daughters, sisters and mom. No one messes with us and doesn't at least hear about it. He was very upset and wanted to call the police. (I guess he figured he couldn't take on both of them.) My mom was also upset--we all were. So we called the police. My mom met us at the house. Two police cars were sent, the HS student was cornered and caught. The police escorted us over to him so that I could ID him. At that point they asked me what I wanted them to do. I didn't know. I did know I never wanted this to happen again. So I said I wanted them to arrest him. They called it a citizen's arrest. I figured that made a statement and maybe his parents would find out. We went down to the station, I gave them my statement and signed a form. They told me the bare bum exposure was a greater offense than the apple lob. I didn't understand that then, but I do now.

I don't know what happened after that, but I was satisfied that I had done my part. I was grateful I could call for help and the police were quick to support and defend my rights.

Last week I was witness to illegal and inappropriate behavior in the ladies locker room at my gym. I like to keep my blog G rated so I'm not going to discuss details, but I will say that two ladies exceeded the unwritten rule of one person per shower stall. They knew I was there and acted as if I wasn't. Enough said.

I usually am very comfortable in a locker room. I'm a swimmer, I don't mind being in my bathing suit and I don't mind showering in a stall naked. I don't want to be looked at, but I have to believe that no one is really looking. We're all girls; we're all there to shower and dress. But not so this day. The behavior of these ladies made me very uncomfortable.

I had to choose between quickly leaving (with only one leg shaved) or staying to finish my shower. I had to choose between saying nothing or saying something--saying something to the women and/or something to the management. These are not choices I wanted to make. Gym time is "me" time. It's my stress relief, my break, my thing. As I shaved my other leg with my back turned (wish I could have plugged my ears while I shaved), I decided to act. I decided to use my consumer/gym membership power and talk to the management. The ladies did not need comments from me or any fuel to their fire.

I did talk to the front desk, I did write a report including my phone number, signature and descriptions of the women. I did talk to my family friend, a police officer assigned to the part of town my gym is in. I know my rights and the law. I followed up with the manager a few days later.

It's not what they did that makes me so mad, that was just gross and wrong. What makes me mad was that I had to spend time and energy on their poor choices. I'm mad I remember it when I go to the gym for my "me" time. I'm mad that when I see lesbians now, I wonder if they are as crude and obnoxious as these two ladies were.

At the same time, I'm grateful for the manger who gave me his card with his direct line on it, for the police officers who battle this sort of crap and worse every day. I'm grateful to have a mom and brother who love me, who gave me courage as a little girl to stand up for myself and still do. I'm grateful for all the good people who are friendly, kind and always appropriate in public. I live in a very nice family oriented community. For all that I'm very grateful.

Let's keep in in the bedroom people. And lock your door too--I do. Everyone else? Please help me out. Please don't let me be alone in reporting stuff like this. It's someone else's turn next time.