Brianna Popsickle – Super Hero …
Posted: Wednesday, January 12, 2011
by Brianna Popsickle
You’ve heard those stories about ordinary people jumping into action doing just the right thing at just the right moment, to save the day? They’re fearless, strong and brave. I always thought I’d be that person. I’d be the one to press the silent alarm, knock the gun from a robber’s hand, or tackle him to the ground.
Me? A fearless hero, who was I kidding?
I suspect most people never get the opportunity to put their super hero skills to the test, but I’ve had two such occasions.
One night my daughter’s friends left their cars at our house while they took cabs to the bar. Around 2:30 a.m. I was still lying awake as my husband slept peacefully beside me.
It was a hot summer night. Our bedroom window was open. Suddenly I was aware of a noise outside the front of our house. I looked out to see two men trying to break into a car.
I reacted instantly! I summoned my courage and yelled in the deepest voice possible, “Hey! Get away from that car!”
Immediately they fled down the street. I was shocked to see they were dressed all in black and wearing balaclavas. They weren’t mischievous teenagers. They were big men. I saved the day, I thought. The car could have been stolen. But just as I was starting to feel good, something happened. A third guy appeared from behind a tree.
But instead of running down the street like the others, he came towards my bedroom window, stopped and looked up at me.
I froze. All I could see were his eyes through the holes in the balaclava.
What are you doing? I wanted to yell. You’re supposed to run! But instead we stood staring at each other. My heart started racing. What was he thinking?
Suddenly, I remembered my husband still sleeping. I screamed out his name and the guy ran off.
Looking back, I should have remained silent and called the police, who might have been able to catch them in the act. So much for me saving the day, I’d do better next time, if there was a next time.
There was.
I was working the evening shift at a pharmacy when I glanced up to see four men standing behind a display about eight feet from me. They had shaved heads wore hoodies, toques and denim jackets. They startled me as I hadn’t seen them come in.
They mumbled something to each other then looked at me. One pointed to the nearest door and asked, “Can you get out that door?”
Why were they asking? Did they want to know if I could get out, or were they planning their escape route? And why were four thugs, (who I couldn’t help but notice were pretty hot and looked much like the bad guys in the Die Hard movie) shopping together at this hour, in the cosmetic department of all places?
I was not getting a good feeling.
“I’m sorry, you can’t get out this door, you have to go around,” I explained. They took two steps, stopped and continued to mumble, looking over at me. Then I noticed it. Two of them were wearing blue latex gloves!
Are you kidding me? I looked at the gloves then at the guy. He looked back at me aware that I’d noticed the gloves. I swallowed hard.
I was starting to freak out. I figured there were only two reasons they’d be wearing gloves. One, they didn’t want to leave fingerprints, or two, they didn’t want to get blood on their hands!
I glanced at the phone a few feet from me. I could make a move to dial 911, but didn’t have a hope in hell of completing the call. I could page an in-store security alert, but I didn’t want to bring unsuspecting co-workers over to the thugs. I could trip the silent alarm . . . but there wasn’t one!
@#$####!!
My face grew hotter by the minute. One guy stretched out his arm while tugging at the sleeve of his glove, pulling it tighter.
We’re dead, I thought. We’re all gonna die!
Just as I started to back up they made a move for the other side of the store. I started to walk, then ran towards the back of the store where the pharmacist was working. She was deep in thought filling prescriptions.
“Wanda! Wanda!” I whispered, not to distract the men. I waved my arms frantically to get her attention.
She gave me a puzzled look and came over.
My heart was pounding.
“Did you see four men? They’re wearing toques and denim jackets. Two of them are wearing blue latex gloves! We should call the . . .”
She smiled and interrupted me, “Oh, you saw the cops?”
“Cops?” I said.
“Yes, undercover cops in training. One of them cut his finger off tonight. One of the others had cuts too. They’ve just come from Emergency for a prescription and latex gloves.”
I took a deep breath trying to regain my composure.
“Pretty hot, weren’t they,” I said trying to hide my embarrassment.
But I wasn’t fooling her. She’d seen the panic on my face. Reluctantly I told her what I’d been thinking. I thought we were dead.
“That would have been so funny,” she laughed. “Calling 911 on undercover cops. You would have made the paper for sure!”
“Yeah,” I smiled, playing along. “I can see it now, Brianna Popsickle saves the day …”
Well, it may not have happened yet, but given my history I’m certain I’ll get another opportunity to put my super hero skills to the test.
And next time, I promise you, Iwill save the day!
This Article has been viewed 1,347 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsYou got be brave and smart at the same time. Otherwise things could get really bad when you are among the real bad ones. Thanks for the nice read as usual - always entertaining.I hope I never run into the real bad ones DM. I'm glad you enjoyed the article, happy to entertain you. :)
h brianna,
i loved it...
i always wanted to save the day, spending thousands of hours playing out
scenarios where i saved someone.
i'm glad i read this-it made me feel better- my 20 year old is now joining the military-3 out of 3.
my best,
sueWe're probably lucky Sue if we're never called upon to save the day! :) All the best to you and your children.
You are a superhero girlfriend. We need to design your cape. This way your confidence will be boosted. I can hear it now - Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane... no, It's....okay, I need more time to think, but you will be amazing!Hahahhaha, that is so cute. Yes a cape Teresa, that's exactly what I need. :)
Briana,
I love your word usage. At first I thought the men stealing the car were wearing turkish desserts (Baklava) but then I learned a new word for a black hood (balaclavas). Your word usage and story are excellent. I shared this with my wife since she would have woke me up immediately. I thought it would be a good teaching moment.
Take care.If only I could sleep like my husband. I reacted without thinking I suppose, and should have woken him up first. But his response would have been to grab a bat and head out the door most likely, so I'm glad I did what I did in that regard. Nice to hear from you Jon.
Whew! You had me, Brianna, my heart is actually pounding!! I'm awfully glad that third (real) thug didn't attack you. Scary stuff. I think it was pretty super-hero stuff to scream and not faint!We think about how we would react in a situation but rarely do we think about what their response will be to our actions. When he didn't run and was literally a few feet from my window looking up, I remember thinking holy ##@ did I lock the door?
Thanks. Interesting behavior. I'm glad you are okay. Heroic actions are spotaneous when one sees wrong and desires it to be right
Thanks for reading and commenting Jack. Nice to hear from you.
Super hero, you still look forward to another one ? My heart actually was beating faster and faster while reading this. Please, Brianna, you scared me off the h......not again. About the first incident, do you think they will come back (to your window) ??Sorry to scare you Hilda! I don't think they''ll be back, but if it were to happen again I'd know to dial 911 first! Thanks for reading! Nice to hear from you.
At least you keep thinking about the important things in the face of fear and pressure--about that they were hot--ha-ha
SteveWell I had to get a good look Steve, in case I needed to give a detailed description. Ya, I'll stick with that. :)
This was brilliant! It really made me laugh and kept me entertained and reading through the whole article. If you don't write books, I certainly think you should. I'd definitely read them! You really have a talent for keeping the reader intertwined in the writing.Thanks Sydney. Actually I've just published Letters from a Suburban Prison which is a collection of short stories. If you're interested in a copy just email me. I'm glad you enjoyed this article. Never a dull moment. :) Thanks for reading and commenting, much appreciated.
More comments
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.