Police Station Outing

So this is kinda a sad thing but last week I packed up my office at Comedy Central and put everything in a big box and shipped it home. In that box, which was the size of microwave box or whatever, was my velvet painting from Voodoo Velvet. The coconut someone sent me a while back. My sock monkeys from this place. Software, a bunch of music cds, books, and little things and stuff I swiped from around the office. Anyway, I didn't check the 'signature required' box so stupid Airborne Express/DHL apparently decided it was ok to dump it on my stoop. Nobody ever leaves packages on my stoop. Not the post office nobody. They leave the little slip. Anyway the box got totally stolen. Grr. I got a call from a neighbor like 5 blocks way telling me they found a box of my belongings out by their garbage. They saw my phone number on the airborne slip on the box. All that was left was papers, a couple cds and three copies of my book. I guess the crooks didn't think my book was worth stealing. Yeah it wasn't a great week on the whole.

Anyway, I called up and yelled at Airborne Express. They told me I was insured up to $100 and that was that and I should have taken extra insurance or whatever. There was more than $100 worth of stuff in there. I told them their drivers shouldn't dump boxes on the street in Brooklyn! Whatever. Luckily and surprisingly responsibly I also have renters insurance and I'm covered for stuff but the insurance company said I had to fill out a police report. So today I headed to the police station which is like 1.5 mile walk. I was kinda psyched to go to the police station (every time I walk into a stationhouse I feel like I'm on a tv show. ironic kinda i guess.)

I got there around 12:30 and told the cop I needed to fill out a report. He told me to take seat. While sitting there I soaked in the police station atmosphere. I listened to two cops talk about a 'jumper' on the Brooklyn Bridge. They apparently talked someone down earlier today. The cop said, 'I knew he wasn't gonna jump. You could tell.' He talked about how the guy almost lost his balance and did the arm waving thing and then grabbed a beam- then got scared and immediately came down.

Then a cop busted in the front door with a criminal guy. The guy was in handcuffs and he looked really tough and mean. I was like, 'Oooh! Look a real life crook!'

Then after a half-hour of waiting, I checked in with the cop at the desk again. He said, 'Oh she's not gonna be back till two.' I was like, 'Who's she?' After staring at me for a second he said, 'She who you need to talk to who ain't gonna be back till two.' Ok. No argument there. I took out my book and just decided to wait it out.

Soon after this dude on crutches and Jeter shirt came in. He checked in at the desk and sat down and immediately started talking to me so I closed my book. He told me about how he was filing a complaint against his neighbors upstairs. He said they blast their music all night but whenever he calls the cops on them the neighbors see the cop car pulling up and turn down the music. He said he's complained to the neighbors directly and they always say sorry but then go back to cranking their music an hour later. He said they smoke crack all night and the music was making him crazy. He said if the cops don't help him he might have to take things into his own hands and then he made the 'gun sign' with his hand. Professional-like with the index finger and the middle finger and the thumb (instead of just the first finger and thumb like us suburban kids do). He said he didn't want to go to jail but he couldn't sleep anymore. He was waiting for the 2:00 lady like me.

The next guy that came in was a frantic chinese guy. Someone had rear ended his car the other day and he needed to get some paperwork or some number or whatever. He left work to pick up the report number and didn't expect to wait around to get it or something. He was kind of making a scene because he didn't think the guy at the desk understood what he needed but the guy at the desk totally did and told him to take a seat.

Then a blind lady (no glasses with cane) came in and talked with the desk guy. Within a minute she started yelling at him and demanded his name and badge number. He thumb-showed his badge at her and she yelled that she couldn't see that. She said, 'I'm blind!' The desk clerk said, 'Partially blind...' Apparently there was some history between them. Then the blind lady threatened to call internal affairs again so the guy gave her the number for internal affairs and she sat down. She seemed a little off. I'm not sure what she was there for.

Finally around 2:30 the 2:00 lady came back. The chinese guy immediately followed her to desk but she sent him back to sit down. She pointed at me and said, 'He's next.' So I sat down with her and she was nice. While taking my report this skinny kid walked up to her desk and asked her, 'Where's the nearest truck stop?' She was like, 'What?' He was like, 'I need to find a truckstop.' She said, 'For what?' He said, 'I gotta get out of New York City.' She said, 'How bout a train?' but he said he had no money. She seemed concerned and sent him off to go talk to one of the other officers.

Anyway, she filled out the report and told me I needed to call back tomorrow for the number. On the way out I wished the guy in the Jeter shirt good luck and he sat there sorta spaced out waiting for the 2:00 lady to call his name. Hopefully they'll help him out with the crackheads upstairs.

Somehow getting a box of stuff stolen seemed pretty low level compared to most of the other stuff that was going on round there. Although I'm so super pissed at Airborne for being stupidasses. And I want my coconut, velvet painting and monkeys back! Bastardos!

ok bye!

tOdd

PS. I saw SO much cool stuff on the way there and on the way back that I put this reminder on the back of my front door as soon as I got home.

forgot it today. sorry bout that...