someone's gotta clean up around here

My second job as crime-fighting superhero started a little over a week ago, in fact on my birthday. We’d finished dinner and post-dinner drinks, and everyone was heading home. We’d all parked in roughly the same spot and were still standing around the sidewalk chatting and saying goodbye. We heard a screeching crunch and I looked up just in time to witness a large black SUV sideswipe a small parked car and bumble on down the road. RO’D was already in his car, so we sent him after the SUV and he called back with the license plates and make/model of the car. A friend and I wrote a little note and left it on the parked car, hoping that the karma from this act would protect our cars on future downtown visits.

A few days later I was at the dog park with Sukka, LR, and Kibbie, when my second crime-fighting superhero opportunity arose. On our way out we saw a woman sitting on the ground crying. It was on second glance that we realized she was surrounded by luggage. LR and I hesitated a bit, unsure of what to do or say to this woman. Another man also was lingering, so we all approached her. Turns out she was from out of town, had been “dropped off” at the dog park, and was not flying out until the following evening – from Houston. We tried to calm her down a bit, offered her some suggestions as to how she could get to Houston, where she could stay, and drove her to a Starbucks so she could get some coffee and make her phone calls. It was one of the strangest interactions I’ve had in a long time.

And then, yesterday morning I stopped to get a bagel for breakfast on my way in to school and as I parked my car I noticed a woman on the ground behind her mini-van. I got out and went over to see what was wrong. I’m still unsure how she ended up on the ground, but she was handicapped and was trying to get her motorized chair into the back of the van, and had somehow made it to the ground and was having trouble getting up. This was one of those situations I hate, as I was unsure of exactly WHAT to do to help her try and get up. (Sometimes I have the same trouble when I try and help my grandmother maneuver around – where is my arm, grip, strength actually most beneficial??) I first moved her coffee cup, which seemed in the way, and then I helped get the chair into the van. By this point a rather tall man came over to offer some help, and he was much better at actually getting her up off the ground. After just a few minutes she was up and on her way, and we were headed inside to get bagels.

We’ll see what crime-fighting superhero adventures today brings, until then I’ll be designing my superhero costume – any suggestions?