I just happen to have...

I'm on my way out of Best Buy yesterday, when I hear an announcment over the p.a. system that I've heard before: "Would the owner of a white Ford F-350 - license plate #****** - please come to the front of the store immediately." (I once caused said announcement at a restaurant where I saw a white Acura ease itself out of its parking spot and down the heavily sloped parking lot where it slammed into a rock wall.) "Damn," I said to The Wifey, "I'd hate to be the owner of that truck. Probably just got robbed or ran into or something."

I wish it had gotten robbed or ran into or something.

Curiosity got the best of me, so when I got close to our car, I saw the big white Ford. A man on his cell phone was at the window, two or three Best Buy employees were there, and the strip mall's security was driving up in rather a hurry. "Oh, shit," I thought to myself.

When I rounded the truck, my eyes and the eyes of The Wifey saw what was going on at the same time. Before I could speak, I hear, "IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?!?!" from The Wifey.

Sawing logs in the back of the crew-cab truck was a darling, platinum-haired girl, all of four years old, who refused to wake up to the beating of doors and windows and the honking of horns at her door. She raised her sleepy head once to wave at the people, and rolled over and went back to sleep.

She was alone, and the windows were up. Doors locked. Truck off. Outdoor temp at time of incident around 96-98 Fahrenheit.

Fuck. Me. Running.

I parked my car, jumped out, and assessed the situation. The vehicle owner was nowhere to be found. 911 had been called (three times by three different people). No one could wake up the girl. "Can we not get in the truck?" I asked. The manager from Best Buy - a first-name-basis friend to many local police, fire, and EMT - said the 911 dispatcher ordered them NOT to break into the truck as police were on the way. I made my only mistake when I stopped to (internally) question the ignorant, cover-your-own-ass mindset that would lead a 911 dispatcher to make such a monumentally stupid-assed order. The security guard, a female with just short of the technique required to place a 4-D Maglite through tempered glass, was not interested in the order. Nor was the man who politely took her flashlight and completed the task.

That window broke loud, and the little girl woke right up. The man who did the breaking (clean-cut, decently dressed man) clearly decided that the possibility of consequences outweighed his need to stick around to find out how the story ends, because he started shaking, handed me the flashlight for some reason, got in his car and split.

Now everyone is looking at me. I waste no time as I reach through the hole in the window, clear off some glass, and hit the power lock. I ran around to the other side and threw open the door. I decided to let the little girl get pulled out by the motherly sweetheart of a lady who probably looked more appealing to a four-year-old than the long-haired guy that just smashed her window and scared her to Wake Up Time. I called for water and a towel or rag for a compress, and the folks from Best Buy got on it. A quick check for vitals, combined with the temperature in the truck (uncomfortably warm, not dangerously hot), revealed that the truck hadn't been parked long. She was a little sweaty and warm, but she was okay. She was happy to have some water, and she was scared a little (but smiling), but she was okay.

Praise all the Gods of men.

I stepped aside to consider the next phase of the situation. Here I am next to an F-350 with a freshly busted window, a bunch of strangers holding someone else's kid, and nary an LEO in sight nor siren within earshot. Okay. Defense Mode activated. I couldn't take a chance on some six-and-a-half-foot Bubba to come bouncing out of the store and start swinging/stabbing/shooting/doing very bad things to the crowd. Once the health of the little girl was cleared, the next thing I did was announce to the crowd: do NOT get in a screaming match with whatever man and/or woman comes out of that store. The police are on their way and will handle them. I stood back and watched for Bubba and the police, praying the latter would show first. I asked the little girl if she was there with her mommy or daddy. She said her mommy.

Some relief, but not much.

Turns out, SAFD was first. As soon as I heard sirens, I kept one eye toward the crowd and flagged down the approaching fire engine. They asked me if there was anything to know, and I told them what I saw. I watched as they assessed the condition of the girl, and collectively agreed that she didn't need anything past a drink of water. At this point, I'm actually starting to think that maybe the mother ran off or was taken when she got out of the truck. One of the firefighters was smart enough to ransack the glovebox and pull a name off the insurance card. He then dispatched an employee to go call for that name in the store. A few short moments later, I was quite surprised.

See, I was expecting some lowlife trailer-park methlab type to come out of the store screaming, "Where's my BAAYBEEE??!!" I was shocked to see a very distraught Suzy Soccermom approach the vehicle wondering just What Was Going On around her truck. Someone called out, "You left your kid in there!" She nearly had a nervous breakdown. No one tried to catch her when she nearly collapsed.

She was reunited with her kid just in time for Grandma to arrive on the scene. Oh yes, sports fans, seems that Mommy AND Grandma left the darling in the truck.

SAPD arrived about that time, and I could no longer be near those two morons without someone nearby to restrain me in case I go postal. So I took the opportunity to brief the responding officer. Kid's okay, mom just this minute showed up, no idea how window spontaneously shattered. He didn't care: he stepped out with his ASP Baton in hand, prepared to dispense some justice to a rogue Ford window.

FD waited for a bit while Mommy Dearest (pun intended) had her conversation with the officer - not a voice was raised, much to his credit - and then asked the officer if they needed him. He waved them off, they all got handshakes and thanks from us onlookers, and the big engine heaved forward and off. The crowd started to dissapate, but I stayed behind to talk to the officer. He cited her, and she'll be in front of a judge on Monday. The charge was Leaving a Child in a Vehicle. It's about as much as she'll get, since the child was not injured, but one can hope the judge has had a very bad day by the time her case is heard. I mean bad. Like I hope he just caught the guy that's been banging his wife or something.

****************************

What the fuck is wrong with people? You forget your keys. You forget your wallet or your phone. You do NOT forget your kid, I don't give two shits or a fuck what's going on. I don't think this act was malicious or even deliberate. The story she gave was that she just dropped her other kids off for a movie (same shopping center) and forgot that the youngest one was asleep in the carseat. They ran across the parking lot to Best Buy to pick up a fridge or something. Suzy Soccermom AND her mother will probably be haunted by this day for the rest of their lives. And just as well they should be.

But just in case you can't live with yourself, just make sure you get your whole head in front of the shotgun.



tweaker

P.S. - in an effort to make sure I never leave a scene like this again, I did two things. First, disregard some asshat on the other end of a phone line. I was there, she wasn't. Damn window was coming out, and I feel like a jackass for hesitating when I should have been fucking up some glass. Thankfully the other guy didn't. Second, I bought two of these, one for each vehicle:

clicky to biggify

This is a Life Hammer. They made it simple. It's a hammer with a seriously fine point on either end of the head for breaking automotive side glass. Anyone knows how to use a hammer. It's also got a handy seatbelt cutter built in to the bottom of the handle. God forbid I should ever happen upon this sort of thing again, but if I do, my mind is prepared and I have one helluva tool for the task. I will also be acquiring an additional 3-D Maglite for The Wifey's car.

Next time, I will not hesitate. Looks like mindset goes for more than just self-defense.