So here's the thing. Some of you know that I was late to class yesterday because of an emergency. My mother had looked out a window and saw a guy crouched in among some bushes, clearly hiding (oxymoron), and looking through the fence, watching something up the street. I kept an eye on him (and took his photo) while my mother talked to the police. The police came, I saw them chat for like 2 seconds with the guy, and then they went to leave. It turned out that he was a plain-clothes cop, and he was watching a stolen car up the street. He apologized for not telling us...he hadn't thought that anyone was home. Thanks. Your secret is safe with us.

When I talked to my parents later in the day, it turns out that wasn't the last of the police incidents. The guy in the back yard was later relieved by another guy, and that guy ended up running off a couple of hours later. He was picked up by some other cops and they sped off. We can only assume that they were chasing the car thieves.

But apparently not long after that was over, there was a hit-and-run accident just in front of the school which is next door. The driver of the hitting vehicle took off. She was clever. It sounds likely that she walked through the subdivision across the street, and found a lady who was just coming home. Accident-driver asked the good samaritan if she could drive her to Skytrain because her boyfriend was beating her up. The good samaritan, shocked at the story and the amount of blood (because hit-and-run driver injured herself while she was running into the other car), took the "victim" to Skytrain. When the samaritan got back home, the police were canvassing the neighbourhood for the suspect. At that point, the good samaritan (or would it be samaritress?) figured out what happened, and told the police. We have no idea if the frazzled bloody blonde (possibly not her natural colour) with the tattooed chest was picked up on Skytrain, but I have a feeling that she blended in and has since disappeared.

Now, don't think that's the end of it! Because while the police were taking statements for the accident in front of the school, someone who was turning out of the subdivision across the street from us ran into a guy who was walking his two dogs. So one of the cops ran the hundred feet or so to the scene of the new accident to check things out. It sounds like the dog-walker was okay. He managed to give the car which had hit him a good kick just as it was bearing down on him and his dogs. Thankfully, though, it sounds like both he and his dogs are okay.

Let me clarify: this is the most police action I've seen on this street in 30 years. It's usually a quiet-ish neighbourhood. There's a lot of car traffic, but besides that, it's basically very quiet. That said, my parents stayed home yesterday. Apparently it didn't seem worth the risk to go to Safeway to get milk.

Wimps.