Things one doesn’t expect

When I’m at an ATM, I try to pay attention to what’s going on around me.  I don’t like surprises.  Today, though, I got a surprise.  As I was waiting for the machine to spit out my cash and receipt, I noticed that, on my right, next to the bank’s front door, was a guy in uniform.  Hmmm….

Second glance showed that the guy in uniform, standing very still and alert, was a police officer.  Well!

Third glance revealed that the police officer had his gun out and was holding it low at his thigh.  “Oh, God, I thought, “money, hurry out of the cash machine, please! I don’t want to walk away and leave you behind.”

Ultimately, I didn’t leave my money behind, because I figured that, if he’d wanted me to skedaddle out of there, the officer would have told me so.  On the other hand, I didn’t do the “other transaction” I was planning on doing.

As soon as the cash hit my fingertips, I just headed quickly for me car, threw it in reverse, and drove out of the parking lot . . . where I saw a policeman behind a tree with a semi-automatic cradled in his arms. Wow!

As it happened, I suspect it was all a false alarm.  My ultimate destination was only a block away and, by the time I’d parked my car, it was clear that the police officers were standing down from their alert.  Nevertheless, I found it a rather exciting change from the humdrum errands I usually run on a Saturday afternoon.