Don't worry, I have not decended into the parallel universe where all I read is comic books, or watch only marvel films, or anything of that nature. Though I would never read marvel comics, I did gain a small amount of respect the other night when I myself became one of the elite, one of only a few people in the world, a true dyed in the wool Crime Fighter. It started as a normal night working at Maria's, stocking some shelves, making a new display in the center of the store for Valentines day, you know normal work stuff. Now I dont usually work tuesday nights since I sometimes enjoy a day or two off and that makes me a little more level headed, but this night I had volunteered to take the shift so that my co-worker, actually he is technically the supervisor, would not be alone and prone to the dangers of single employees at a liquor store. I felt that I was almost useless since all I did was clean and such and worked the cash register. However, I would no longer feel useless after what happened next. Brent had taken a moment to relieve himself, which left me alone in the store. Alone in the store is not as strange as it sounds, its really simple, just stand by the cash register, advise on wine, ring said wine through. This eve as I walked up to stand by the counter I was greated by a couple and a random woman. I say random due to the fact that I could not tell if she was with the couple or seperate. After a few moments it was clear that she wasent so I made my way to the counter to monitor the progress of those in the store. At this point a man, who was neither clean shaven nor to clean in general, came and told me that he was the best man at a wedding and was wondering how much and what kind of wine he should make plans for. I am sad to say that I judged this man based upon his appearence, and was not sure he was for real. I think at this point I became aware of bottle clinking on the other side of the store. (Note that bottles clinking means that bottles have been moved and either the bottles are being purchased, or they were shuffled around, or they were being stolen(stolen refers to the process that a person goes through to remove an article from the place of business without paying for the item, not the bread eaten at Easter.)) The man had me engaged, but I was still watching the woman from time to time to my right. Then the couple wanted to leave with the beer they had selected, which turned out to be an excellent choice on their part since I know for a fact Newcastle is a good beer. I went around to help the couple and the man still engaged me in conversation, which is just bad human skills. Side note: the man during our conversation mentioned how he thought that Chardonnay, "clearly an Italian wine", would be a good choice. Let me interject for a moment some knowledge about wine. Chardonnay is a french grape which grows in a region called "Cote d'Or", and more notably in a region called the "Cote de Beaune" and is portrayed the greatest in what is called "Chablis", a steely white that is delicious with things like turkey and chicken and white sauces and fish. After mentally noting that this man did not know what he was talking about, I began to form what was actually happening in the store in my head, we were being robbed. I stood at the cash and rang through the couple and the man asked if I needed any help, even he could see what was happening, and I said no. Why would I say no? I am not too sure, perhaps I thought that Brent would appear and we would bring the criminal down together, either way the couple left and the man was still talking to me. I saw the woman head to the door and Brent came out of the back. Since there has been a rash of such disturbances in the store Brent and I ask each other what time it is when we would like to alert the other of something fishy. So I asked Brent was time it was and he promptly told me what time it was, he then clued into what was happening and came and stood with me behind the counter. At this point the woman was about to head out the door with one hand in her jacket pocket. I then asked her to open her coat. I think my comment was one of the gutsiest things I have done in many moons. She Kinda stood there and looked dumb, so I asked again with a more assertive voice, (I went to a seminar a few weeks ago that challanged us to be more assertive with our lives, not aggressive, and not passive, but assertive. So finally this woman opened up her coat and with a look of defeat she showed me the two bottles of Icewine she had hidden in there. I reached over took them out of her coat and told he to leave and never come back. At this point my hands got a little shaky and the adrenaline rushed through my veins. Whether or not letting her leave was the right procedure is up for debate. When I told Maria of the previous nights adventure she said thats how we should handle it, so I guess I did alright. So with the woman gone the man still attempted to chat me up about wedding wine, and Brent and I stood there with arms crossed and answered only in short, terse comments. He finally got the hint after we told him to come back when he had more information, so he left. Brent followed him and the woman and the man met up half a block away. Thats how it happens, one to distract, one to steal. Anyways the rest of the night was pretty much a right off since all of the adrenaline was still pumping through me and I was still a little shakey. From this experience I now have more respect for the likes of those Marvel characters, but also more respect for the Police and security that attempts to maintain a level of peace and harmony in this city. So for the last few days those who fight crime have been my favorite people.
