Don't tell my mom!

Tuesday night at 2:45 a.m., while my husband slept peacefully at home, I was in my PJs in the back of an NYPD cruiser! What mischief did I get myself into this time you ask?

It all started with the former bar (now "restaurant") downstairs, that has had a long run of late night, bass-thumping extravaganzas that have done nothing to endear itself to the sleep deprived tenants upstairs, myself and hubbie included. A year and a half (and one eviction lawsuit by the landlord later) the matter still isn't entirely resolved. So when I was awoken again at 2:30 a.m. by shouting, drunk men just below my bedroom window, I decided to go investigate with camera phone in hand. ("Ha-Hah!," I thought. "We will finally kick those crazy bums out with the condemning pictures I am about to take.") But surprise, surprise, the restaurant was closed and quiet! It was the typically unobtrusive bar on the corner that had a gaggle of drunk men hanging in front.

Ah, how drinking can make you smart! In response to my request to please not shout as it was 2:30 a.m., one of them said, "You know there's a bar inside, right?" REALLY? I am so sorry to interrupt you then! Please shout away! Should I have said, "You know there are other people in NY, right?" But instead, after repeating my request, I turned to go back inside when one guy decided that the best response to my little visit was to throw a city trash can through the nearest van window....and walk away!

My adventurous night now included: following the fleeing suspect on foot (can you be "fleeing" when you are just taking an inebriated stroll?), a 911 call, deciding that pursuing men who know I am alone and calling to report them to the police was perhaps NOT the best thing to be doing, giving my police report and then riding around in the cruiser IDing (or un-IDing as the case may be) possible suspects! I suspect they will never find who did it, but it made for an interesting night for me. And one more thing to add to the list of NYC firsts....

The joys of the Big Apple! May you not drink yourself stupid and may you enjoy a quiet night's sleep where ever you are!

p.s. Is it quiet where you are? I was fantasizing about living in a place where you don't get woken up by what happens on the street, maybe because nothing is happening on the street...What would that be like? I think I've forgotten!

p.p.s. In case you were wondering, the seats in the back of the cop car are surprisingly comfortable...although I was sitting in them without my hands handcuffed behind my back and there is virtually no leg room even for someone like me with very short legs. If you thought airlines had no leg room, don't get arrested in NYC!