I was recounting this story to a friend the other day and I thought it might make entertaining reading.
Way back when, somewhere in the mid-eighties, I believe it was my senior year of high school, it was late, and my friend David and I were walking home from the Kwik Shop, where we had spent our last quarters saving the universe from alien invaders and the like, just as we did most nights. Only a block into our journey home (David and I lived right across the street from each other) we passed in front of the local grocery store, Mike's IGA. I honestly do not remember much of our conversation that night as we walked, only that as we came to the corner of the street David turned to me, grinned, and asked if I had seen the police car. My first reaction, of course, was to turn and look behind me. Sure enough, there was a patrol car driving past.
"So what," I thought. So what, until it suddenly turned its flashing lights on and sped up, in our direction, no less. I turned back to David, to say something, but he wasn't there. He had taken off in a sprint around the corner, and judging by the distance he had already covered, I knew that his flight is what had set the patrol car into chase.
"Asshole!" I said, knowing that David had just invented a new, two-part game. The first part was "Lets see if the cop will chase me if I run for no reason," and the second part was, "Lets see how long Daryl stands there like an idiot." Well, I ended the second part quickly and dashed after David, who by now had a good lead on me. I was lucky to see him turn again around the end of the building instead of continuing down the sidewalk. It was a narrow path behind the store that ended at a wooden privacy fence separating the parking lot from the yard. With his ample lead, David was already disappearing over the other side of the fence by the time I reached the end of the track. The patrol car was not far behind but had not cleared the side of the building to see either of us, I decided that I didn't have time to get over the fence, so I dropped to the ground, hoping that the grass and weeds would be tall enough to hide me from view. No sooner had I hit the deck when the spotlight shone up the alley, searching for us. David must have peeked back over the fence to see what was keeping me, because the patrol car went into reverse back around toward the store parking lot where he was now.
I waited there for maybe ten seconds before deciding to go back the way I'd come. Going over the fence now was out of the question. That's where the cop car was going. Logic told me to go the other way. Creeping back to the sidewalk, I checked up and down the street to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing no sign of police, I started down the sidewalk toward home at a brisk walk. Looking back over my shoulder, I could see pulsing red and blue light reflecting off houses and parked cars, but the patrol car was thankfully out of view. I kept moving.
I was nearly halfway down the block when another police car passed through the intersection in front of me, in a hurry. My mind raced. "What do they do on TV when the cops are chasing them? They change their appearance. Two guys in black t-shirts and jeans, that's who they’re looking for.” Off came my t-shirt. (Thank god it was spring.)
Another patrol car raced through the intersection in the same direction. Three now, three police cars looking for us just because we ran in the presence of the first one. You could say I was a bit nervous by this time. I didn't like this new game. I heard the fourth police vehicle coming before I could see it, and it was coming fast. One of the city's small, two-seat helicopters was now overhead, search light shining.
"Don't panic" I told myself. "Don't run." That's what they were looking for, someone who wanted to run. I kept walking. The searchlight eventually found me on the sidewalk, and resisting the urge to flee, I just stopped and stared up as if I had no idea what was going on or why. It worked. The searchlight paused on me for only a moment before resuming its hunt for someone guilty of something. I walked on down the street, wondering how well David was playing the game he had started.
I found out a few blocks later, as David came around the corner, his black t-shirt hanging out of his back pocket just as mine was from my back pocket. Police cars roamed up and down the streets, passing by us many times on the remainder of out walk home, the chopper circling the neighborhood. Despite the fact that we won, I am thankful that I never played that game again.
