Finally - As Promised !!

A while ago, I wrote that I would tell about "a weird occurrence in the neighborhood".

So, here goes it ...

A few weekends ago (the one that was incredibly hot and humid), my next door neighbor (NDN) and I were sitting on my porch chatting (complaining about the heat) and we saw a red cab pass us by and then it did it again (around the island to the right of where we live). Not really a strange occurrence but it caught our attention because it pulled up in front of a neighbor's house across the way and one of the occupants of that house got out after a few minutes and went into his house. Almost immediately, a yellow cab pulls up in front of his house and out he comes and leaves again.

A few moments later, another neighbor (the elderly woman who is a busy body) comes out of her house (a few doors down from the male neighbor) and hollers for us to come over. So, NDN and I walk towards her house. As we are making the trek across the parking lot, NDN notices some bags in the parking space next to where the taxi cabs had just been. She, being the nosey person that she is, says "I wonder what kind of groceries he left in the street" and heads over to them. She peeks down inside the larger bag (much bigger than a paper grocery bag) and lets out a yell - OH MY GOD - IT'S MONEY !!

Elderly neighbor and I don't really believe her, so we walk over to take a look. By God, she was right. Sitting there on the pavement, is a large brown bag with a bunch of coins and bills inside (not neatly folded or wrapped, just thrown in there all willy nilly). On the top of all the money is a bottle of liqueur (clear like vodka). Next to the brown bag, are 5 or 6 Wendy's bags (from the restaurant). I pick one up to peek inside and it is full of coins. As a matter of fact, all of them were full of coins. AND all of this is sitting in the middle of the parking spot with no one around.

I turn to NDN with a weird look and she looks back at me with a similar look wondering WTF ? (note to add - we both know that this particular neighbor is a manager of a Wendy's in a town up the road*).

WHAT WOULD YOU THINK AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO???










NDN called the police (non emergency, of course!) and reported that there were bags of money sitting in a parking spot in our neighborhood. Elderly neighbor retreats back in to her house and tell us not to mention her name or presence, because she doesn't want to be involved. They said they would send someone out as soon as possible.

So, NDN and I sit down on the curb (on the island) with the bags in our sight and wait. And waited ....

After what seemed like forever, which was really only about 15 minutes or so, the yellow taxi returns and the male neighbor gets out and heads to his house with a clear grocery bag in his hand. He doesn't say a word (I'm sure he saw us sitting on the curb) and neither do we. We can clearly make out the contents of the grocery bag - a six pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes. He goes inside. A few minutes later, he comes back out to the parking spot and picks up the brown bag, which he struggles with because I am sure it is quite heavy (seeing that it is full of loose coin) and walks it up his sidewalk and plops it down just barely on his porch. He makes a few more trips out to the parking spot and picks up a bag with each hand, each time and drops them on the ground right at the end of his sidewalk.

Not a word is exchanged by any of us during this entire time. He doesn't even acknowledge that we are sitting right there watching him. He goes back inside. We sit there on the curb dumbfounded and continue to wait for the police. He steps back out on to his porch, removes the liqueur bottle from the brown bag and goes back inside. We still sit and wait, wondering where the heck is the police officer.

After, again, what seemed like forever (and because it was so stinkin hot), NDN and I head back to our respective houses with the thought that she had given her name and address to the police when she called, so when they finally showed up, they would know where to go since the bags were no longer sitting in the street. And sure enough, we had barely gotten back to our houses and the officer shows up so we go over and meet him across the street. He listened to us telling him what had happened. He tells us that the police had gotten a call to the same address earlier in the day (but didn't tell us why). He told us that the guy had told them that his car had broken down earlier in the day.

Didn't make much sense to us - but what the hell !!

When the officer got there, NDN made it a point to tell him that people leave their trash in the parking lot all the time and that is why she checked out the bags - because she thought it was trash - WHAT A HUGE LIE THAT WAS !!!

(and she had even casually mentioned to me that we should take the money and not say anything to anyone - that was said to me before she called the police). NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO !! (in my humble opinion, that is).

Anyways, he thanked us for being good citizens and told us that he would go pay the guy a visit. He did and then we watched him drive away. Never did find out what was going on ....

The bags were no longer outside the next day and I didn't dare to look that night - since the neighbor knew that we knew about them. No one else would have even known to look for them!

*My immediate thoughts - since when does a manager of any establishment bring home the money - loose coins and loose bills at that. Wouldn't they lock it up in a safe or take it to the bank for deposit?

Rumor has it - from the elderly busy body - that the neighbor and his sig other (which is also male) have spent the last couple of weekends in Atlantic City .....hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Your thoughts and/or comments are welcomed ...